//------------------------------//
// Final Harvest 
// Story: Just Horsing Around 
// by Darkness Shade 
//------------------------------//

“It is not often that we find you here in our mental court, Ryan. What brings you here on this dream-filled night?”
“Something that’s been bothering me since before mah birthday, Lunes.”
“Ah. You speak of that bizarre dream, in which Honesty and Laughter were killed by some odd version of AppleJack.”
‘Curious way to put it, Woona, but yeah. Ry’s had that dream twice more now and it keeps getting weirder and weirder. It’s worrisome that, while not a direct sign of something, it might be foretelling some kinda danger.’
“Ah did write it off as just stress over meeting mah herd’s parents and such, but when it kept happening even after that…Ah started worrying as well.”
Luna nodded. “As you say, I have detected the recurring actions in that dream. But please, tell me, what exactly has been happening? With so many dreams each night, even I have a hard time piecing myself off to fully explore each one.”
“Well...this last one got all shades of strange….”


“Dammit! How is there more than one of those stupid things now!?” Ryan growled, running as fast as he could...but with one less pony in tow. “Dashie…those fuckers are gonna pay.”
‘Ryan, focus! I...I’m not happy either, but she bought us time to get away. True loyalty to the end...dammit, speedy snooze….’
“I think I’ve found somewhere safe to port to, Ryan.”
“...good job, T-Sparks. Everypony grab hold!”
With that the group poofed away moments before a large group of the bizarrely twisted AppleJacks descended on the location.
Huffing and puffing, the group of ponies plus one human caught their breath now that they were safe.
“For how long though?” Lyra wondered as she looked around. “...is this the farm? Won’t this be the first place they’d think to look?”
“Exactly. That’s why it’s genius. It’s too obvious, so we’ll have more time here than anywhere else.”
“Oh I hope so….oh Rainbow….” Fluttershy shivered before turning to Ryan. “We can’t let them keep getting away with this.”
The human smiled, gently caressing her mane. “They’ll pay. Don’t worry...Dark and Ah will see to that much. Ugh….can’t believe we got ambushed like that. How the hell are there more of them?”
“One can only wonder, darling. To think they have the same face as AppleJack…”
“Similar face, but that’s all. Those Eppaljecks are no pone of mine.” Ryan growled softly before grunting again. “Crap...whatever they did ta me hurt like hell.”
“We’ll keep watch, so rest if you need to.” Twilight focused before her horn lit up. “That should help us stay safe...for a little while anyway.”
‘As much as I don’t like it, it would keep yer mind focused Ry. Yer kind of all over the place emotionally...so much so yer E.S. is on the brink of exploding.’
“...yeah. Yeah…Ah know.” Ryan glanced at the three necklaces on his belt and closed his eyes. “...girls…Ah’m sorry….”
With that he closed his eyes and sleep claimed him.

“...Apple Ryder.”
“HuH!?” Ryan gasped to see himself in a weird, foggy landscape. A foreboding melody surrounded him as he shook off the grogginess. “The hell...hmmm….Apps?”
Looking around he saw the briefest glimmer of orange disappear into the fog, which he wasted no time in getting up to chase. “APPS!”
“....Rysy-Wysy…”
“Pinks!?” A wisp of pink appeared only to quickly disappear. “What the hell is going on here? Where am Ah? Am Ah dreaming now? Is this...mah guilt eating at me….”
“....Rys…”
“...Dashie too…” He chased after the hint of blue that swirled amongst the fog, but no matter how hard he ran he couldn’t seem to ever catch any of the colors he had seen. “What is going on here? Isn’t it bad enough that Ah’ve lost them? Must mah dreams torment me too!? Ah couldn’t save you three! Dammit! Ah couldn’t...no matter how hard Ah always worked to protect our happiness, to protect y’all...in the end it wasn’t good enough. All because of some magical abomination from beyond.”
“....Apple Ryder…”
Staring through his tear-filled eyes, the fog began to slowly lift and there, smiling sadly at him, was none other than Applejack.
“Apps...Ah’m sorry. Ah promised to always keep y’all safe...and Ah failed.”
“It’s not yer fault, Ry-Ry...we never could’ve guessed such a thing would happen.”
“Heh, that’s for sure.” Ryan turned to see Dashie had appeared to his right. “We’ve been through chaos gods, changeling invasions, the return of an evil shadow king, and even a cross-dimensional instability in all of reality. But those weird creatures…”
“Even our imaginations couldn’t have come up with anything that crazy, Rysy-Wysy.”
“But what are they?! How...how do we fight something that fast? That powerful? It...it makes others into it. We can only keep them away from the others in Equestria for so long. They’ll spread from Ponyville and then…” Ryan sighed as he stared at the ground. “Even Cellie and Lunes….hell, and Disky; Ah highly doubt those three would be able ta stop them.”
“Hey, what’s all this talk? You’re our human and remember what I always said?” Dashie smirked as Ryan stared into her eyes. “Nopony and no one ever beats you! You’re the strongest person I know. Your mind, your heart, and your fists. No matter what, you always find the way to win and to do it without harming those you fight. Ya might have to pull a page from your buddy DJ and fight with intent to kill with those creatures, but you will find a way to win and save the world.”
“Dashie…”
“It...it won’t bring us back...that’s true.” Pinkie smiled despite tears pouring down her face. “But you can save the world we love and live life to the fullest with those that are left. We’ll always love you, Ryan. That will never change even though we’ve moved on to the next adventure first.”
“Pinkie’s right, Apple Ryder. Nothing will change our love for ya. We’re gone, but we’ll never be forgotten.”
At this point Ryan could barely see he was so overcome by emotion. “But...Dashie! Why didn’t ya just come with us?! Ya didn’t have to do what ya did!”
Dashie sighed before running a hoof across the ground. “Yeah, I did. I had to save you, my human. None of the others would’ve been able to keep them at bay as long as you needed to get away. And Twilight’s magic has no affect on them for some reason.”
“But yer Element….!”
“It wouldn’t have made much difference against those things...and we couldn’t let them get ahold of any of them. Who knows what would happen?”
The fog began to roll back in, but Ryan refused to let go of them. He held tight before breaking down into an awful mess. “Don’t leave me….Ah don’t want a world where we aren’t all together. That kinda world...ain’t right.”
“Apple Ryder…” AppleJack’s sad smile did little to ease his ache. With a quick kiss from each of them, he felt their bodies slip from his arms and slowly vanish into the fog.
“APPS! DASHIE! PINKS! NOOO!” Ryan reached for them, but it was all in vain. Soon, he was left alone with his sadness in the fog. “....no...n-no…..”
His labored breathing echoed in the emptiness before he sensed something in the fog. Strange noises began to overshadow his breathing, the weird talking a clear sign on what was hiding just out of sight.
“Come on you sons of bitches!” Ryan roared, flaring his Elemental Sync and brandishing Malus Domestica. “YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME!? THEN COME TAKE IT! RAWR!!!!!!”
As the fog parted, there was a massive army of Eppaljecks surrounding the poor human. He didn’t care, though, he was going to make each and every single one of them pay for destroying his herd the way they did. With an inhuman growl he lunged at the nearest ones, doing what he could as he ran his apple-emblazoned blade through them. Hit after hit landed, but where one went down, two more took their place. Through tears and anguish, he pushed and pushed...but it was a losing battle. Eventually they began to swarm and overtake him as his sight began to fade.
The last he saw was an apple before blacking out.

“Ryers, wake up.”
Ryan awoke with a start, to see a very worried Lyra staring at him.
“Thank goodness. You were crying a lot in your sleep.” She looked away sadly. “I’m pretty sure I know why. I’m sorry.”
Reaching up to clear his damp eyes, and then blowing his nose after being offered a tissue by his marshmallow, Ryan sighed before shaking his head. “It’s okay. That dream was...almost too real. And strange...never thought in all mah restless dreams, Ah’d see that place. Ah reckon that was their way of saying goodbye. And yet…”
“What is it, my peach?”
Ryan stood up slowly before looking at them. “Ah think they may have been allowed ta gift us with the answer we needed to stop them. These things...they’re the opposite of Apps. And if she loves apples...they must hate them.”
‘Good thing yer sword is apple incarnate, partner.’
“Yer damn right about that one.” Ryan smirked as he glanced at his sword. “T-Sparks...Ah think Ah’ve got a plan ta stop them once and for all.”
“I get that your sword is involved...but what can we do?”
‘We’ve got that covered ladies. Ryan?’
“Yes.” Ryan pulled out their portable hole—grimacing slightly at the memories it drug up—before pulling out a massive gun case. “Dark and Ah, along with Pinks, had been tinkering with something after that day our breakfast went rogue. We finished it not too long before...before this happened. It’s sad that she won’t get to see them in use...but she’ll be happy that they’re going to save the day.”
“Darling...what are those?” Rarity stared at the now open case, noting the oddly designed contraptions within.
“The fastest way to end those fuckers, mah lady.” Ryan smirked as he shouldered his weapon. “Each of ya get one...don’t hesitate. Dashie was right with what she told me in mah dream: we gotta follow Deej’s example and not hold back on these guys. We have ta kill them before they destroy our world.”
‘Now load up, ladies!’ Dark shouted as another case appeared before opening with a hiss to reveal quite the interesting sight.

“...what are these?” Fluttershy took a box before sniffing. “Some type of pastry...this is our ammo?”
‘Indeed. We give you the P0P-74R7 Breakfast Heavy Machine Gun.’
“Or as Pinks liked to shorten it to: The Pop-Tart Gun! We’ll hit them fast and hard and then…!”
Before Ryan could finish his sentence the side of the barn exploded open to show a whole mess of quite agitated Eppaljecks. A series of bloops and bleeps were heard as the one that seemed to be in charge threw a hoof towards Ryan and the remainder of his herd.
“Eat me, Motherbucker!” The human replied, smirking as the abomination twitched in aggravation. “This. Ends. Here!”


“....and unfortunately, that’s where Ah woke up.” Ryan sighed as he looked at a very perplexed Luna. “Just what is going on? This dream is so bizarre...but Ah can’t help but feel as if something is going to happen because of it. Probably not what actually happens in the dream, but something that will affect not only mah herd, but all of Equestria.”
“Hmmm, I see now. No wonder you have been more tired as of late. Such a horrid nightmare.” Luna closed her eyes, pondering over those dreams. Quite a bit at that. Perhaps too long Ryan began to think before she finally turned to face him. “While it is worrisome, I wouldn’t think too much of it right now.”
‘...that sounds like a dodgey answer, Woona.’
“Indeed it does. You know something, and Ah think Ah know what it is, but ya can’t say because of events having to happen. Just tell me...will it be soon? Ah need ta know how ready ta be.”
“Hmmm...it would seem my sister and I were correct in realizing you had pieced together some things.” Luna snorted before rolling her eyes. “No thanks to Prince DJ Sparkle, I would imagine.”
“Eh, it’s not all his fault. Fifty/fifty, maybe sixty-seven/thirty-three. Either way, he was drunk too so...don’t hold it against him too much.”
“Lovely….soon. It is almost all in place. Though, I will say this: there isn’t much you can do to help. Just...be supportive when the time comes.”
“Cryptic. How typical of you, Lunes. Haha.” Ryan grumbled a bit. “Hmm...about time ta wake up, eh?”
“Yes. Thank you for visiting, though, it gets rather quiet since many ponies have long forgotten how to visit me here in the realm of dreams.” Luna smiled as Ryan began to fade away. “Oh, but my little humans...there will be something you must face. Be prepared for a visit from….”

Ryan slammed his alarm clock hard before grumbling. “Dammit...prepared for a visit from who? Stupid cliché dream cut-off to build drama bull-honky!”
And what are you gonna do about it?
“Shut up! Too early ta deal with yer crap.” He rolled out of bed and got dressed. “Besides, got bigger things ta mess with today.”
‘Someone just got burned. Oooooooh.’
Dark. In a trunk. Off a bridge.
‘So touchy.’
“Quit annoying him, we’ve gotta meet up with Dashie and see what all news she’s got about her joining the Reserves.”
‘Oh yeah! She’s gonna get the letter saying whether she gets the chance or not! She’s been going on about it for like, ever! What are ya dragging yer rear for? Get that flank moving so we can see how Speedy Snooze did!’

‘So why are we waiting at Dash’s home? I mean, it’s still technically her home even though we all live in the new house that was built...but why not there?’
“It has something to do with our status and address red-tape and...it’s kinda silly. Regardless, that’s where her letter is being mailed.” Ryan eyed his herd waiting nearby Rainbow’s cloudy abode. “Alright! Looks like we aren’t too late!”
“Sheesh, took your time, Rys.” Dashie chuckled. “Was afraid you were sleeping in too long. That nightmare again?”
Ryan shook his head. “No, but another equally confusing dream all the same. So where’s the letter? Aren’t they a bit late in delivering it?”
“Gasp! Rysy’s right! What if this means you aren’t getting in?” Pinkie gasped in worry. “Or if it got lost in the mail? Or the mailpony took a wrong turn and ended up in Albuquerque?!”
“...what’s an Albuquerque?”
“It has ta do with something random, T-Sparks. Ah wouldn’t worry about it.”
Watching Pinkie bounce and bounce in worry, eventually their human grabbed hold of her and started scratching right behind her ear. “Calm down, Pinks. The mail isn’t always on time, especially if it ain’t our awesome resident mailmare delivering it.”
“...hmmm. You’re right! Silly me!”
“Besides...Me? Not get in?” Rainbow chuckled before slicing through some low-flying clouds. “I’m the greatest flier in Equestria, how could I of all ponies not get in?”
‘Someone’s ego is flowing strongly today.’
Everypony chuckled at Dark’s words, though Rainbow simply rolled her eyes before seeing the mailpony come flying in.
“I’ve got a special letter for a miss...Rainbow Dash?”
“That’s me!” She excitedly stated, grabbing the letter from the stallion and ripping it open. “Hmm….hmmm….hmmm….”
“Well, darling, don’t leave us in suspense. What does it say?”
“It says...I didn’t get in.” Rainbow Dash faltered in her flying and frowning.
Predictably, the others gasped in shock and horror—well, mostly Rarity in this case as she does tend to be overly dramatic—though Ryan and Dark simply smirked.
“Dashie-kins...yer bad.”
Rainbow chuckled before returning the smirk. “Come on Rys, at least let me have a little fun. But yeah, guys, I got in. Was there any doubt?”
“Woo-hoo!” Pinkie shouted in glee, grabbing Rainbow and dancing about. The letter fluttered around before landing on Ryan’s head, causing the human to grab it and take a look himself. As he neared the bottom, something caused an eyebrow to raise as he looked over it quite intently.
“Ah know that look, Apple Ryder. There’s something Dash forgot to note, isn’t there?”
“Yeah, and it’s kinda weird at that. It says here that she’s only accepted and granted arrival rights if Ah show up as well.”
“...wut?” Rainbow Dash shook Pinkie off before zooming over to her human. “But? Why? What gives?”
‘Heh, I’ve a few guesses.’
“Quite.” Ryan sighed before rolling his eyes. “Apparently Spits is still quite curious about me after that meet and greet.”
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow eyed him curiously. “What does that mean?”
‘It means she was getting flirty with him.’
“Weird. But wait...that means you have to come. Otherwise I won’t get my chance!”
Hoping to nip her anxiousness in the bud, Ryan ruffled her mane before grinning. “And who said Ah wouldn’t go? Ah happen ta be an awesome flier mahself, and though it’s not her true intention, Spits is gonna see that she’s getting more than she bargained for. So get ready, Dashie-kins: we’re gonna rock this shit and be the best Wonderbolts ever! Reserve or otherwise, right?”
“Heck yeah! That’s the way, Rys!”
Pinkie nodded happily in excitement along with the others before she blinked. “Huuuuuuuuuuuh! That means our human is gonna be gone for a short while too! Noooo! Not the snuggles and the tummy wubs! What will we do without them?!”
“Oh please, and I’m supposed to be the one obsessed with those wonderful hands of his.” Lyra giggled. “We’ll survive a few days without our human, Pinkie. It’s not like we need him to function, he just greatly assists in getting through the rough parts of the day. So I suggest we take the few hours we have to enjoy time with our human and dear friend before they go rock that academy hard!”
‘I like where this is going! Oh yeah~’
Ryan simply facepalmed, his hand slowly dragging down his face...and nearly taking his glasses with it. “Dark…”
‘Yes~?’
“Goddammit, Dark.”

After that silly moment with the soul man, our little group enjoyed a short time of peaceful snuggles and such before Ryan and Rainbow waved goodbye and took off for the Wonderbolts Academy. As they flew, he noted that Dashie seemed pretty quiet...which seemed off.
“Dashie-kins? Hon? Ya alright?”
“Huh? Y-yeah! Just fine.” Rainbow laughed into a sigh. “Just...trying to figure out what weirdness is going on here with Spitfire requesting that you come along as well. It’s not like Dark said, is it?”
Ryan spun around to face her as they flew and shrugged. “No idea. It could be. She did send some pretty crazy vibes mah way when we were in Cloudsdale at that show, but that was so long ago now. It’s almost been a year, so it seems odd if that were still the case.”
‘Well, partner, we are pretty dang awesome and such a specimen of sexiness that it wouldn’t surprise me.’
Ryan and Dash blinked at this comment before rolling their eyes.
“Dark, you’re something else.”
‘Hell yeah I am!’
“That’s not...she wasn’t...ugh...yer such a brat!!”
After that lovely slice of Dark’s charming behavior, they flew the remainder of the way in silence before finally spotting the Academy on the horizon.
“Yeah! There it is, Rys! Wonderbolts Academy, where only the best get to be the super best!”
It sure enough seemed impressive, both from its size as well as the design as they swooped overhead. Down below, there were a multitude of other pegasi arriving themselves as well as doing what appeared ta be drills of some type. Eventually, Ryan and Dashie came to a landing not too far from a yellow and orange maned mare decked out in a rather impressive looking suit. It didn’t take long for the human to figure out who this was.
“Spits looks weird not in her normal flight suit. And dang.” He let out a low whistle. “That’s a lotta medals and such.”
‘Well, Ry, she is their leader so it’s no surprise she’d have a lot of accolades under her belt.’
Ryan smirked. “She’s not wearing a belt, partner.”
‘...you know what I mean, smartass.’
“Well, well, well. Look at what we’ve got here. A fresh batch of recruits that think they’ve got it what it takes to be Wonderbolt.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow as he watched Spitfire move down the runway, examining and eyeing the other recruits before she stopped dead in front of him and Rainbow Dash.
“So, do you think you have what it takes? Do you think you’ve got the skill? The speed? The finesse to be part of Equestria’s top flight team?”
“Sir, yes sir!” Rainbow Dash barked out, maintaining an oddly serious face. “I will be a Wonderbolt and no one will stop me!”
Spitfire smirked before looking up at Ryan and winking. “And what about you, Mr. Human? Do you think you have what it takes to fly with these Pegasi?”
Rolling his eyes, Ryan glanced down at her with a smirk of his own. “Well, considering you invited me here without my having to apply, Ah’d like ta think that speaks for itself. Still...ya wanna see how well Ah can fly? Then let’s get this little introduction over with and start on something more...challenging.”
“Oooh, you’ve got a lot of spunk, Mr. Human. I can’t wait to see you in action.”
With that she continued on, though Dark was pretty sure she was accentuating the movement of her hips just a bit more than before.
‘Damn...she’s not trying to be terribly subtle, is she?’
“Not even. Oh well. We’re here, might as well kick some flank and make the most of it.”

“Come on Rys!”
“Hmmmm….”
“Rys! All the cadets have to meet up now that we’ve checked in and got our flight suits.”
“Yeah...about that…”
“Oh come on! You’re not telling me your shy now, are you?”
“No! It’s just…” Ryan sighed before finally stepping into sight. “Ah dig the yellow and blue, always have, but it’s so...so….form-fitting.”
“Oh Rys, you’re too much at times. They’ve gotta be aerodynamic, ya know? Helps ya fly better! Now come on!”
Realizing he really didn’t have much of a choice, Ryan followed along before taking his place alongside Dashie and the others candidates vying for a shot at the Wonderbolts Reserve roster. At Spitfire’s command, the recruits stood at attention and awaited what she had to say.
“Yes, yes...the suits do help.” She eyed Ryan with a smirk. “Very much so, but looking the part can only get you so far. It takes endurance, skill, and perseverance to survive as a Wonderbolt!”
With that she started glaring hard at the numerous Pegasi there. “So then, do you have what it takes? Can you keep pushing without backing down? Or you? You’re probably the worst flier in all of Equestria, let alone all of the world! You won’t last one day!”
“Try me!”
‘Oh man, she’s pushing the Rainbow Dash button, partner.’
‘Eyup. This is gonna be fun!’
“Is that so?” Spitfire circled around Rainbow Dash before letting out a ‘hmph’. “And you—”She turned to face a light turquoise colored pegasus with golden amber hair”—I bet the breeze from a butterfly would send you of course!”
“Hmph, then test me!”
“Oh? Eager to prove yourself, eh? Well then! Here’s your first shot at it: 501 laps! All of you! Now!”
Amongst the groans and grumbles from most of the Pegasi, Ryan’s quiet question of confusion could barely be heard as he took to the skies as well. “...why 501?”

Nearing the end of their lapfest, Ryan looked about to see quite a few of the Pegasi struggling to hit that finish line. Given all the practice he’d had in the time since first acquiring his wings, something stamina testing like this wasn’t too difficult. If anything, he was a bit worried about how overzealous Rainbow was being along with that other mare that seemed far too happy to compete with her.
‘That’s not really a problem, Dash is competitive, so such things are to be expected.’ Dark laughed softly. ‘I think the bigger issue is where exactly Spitfire has been looking with those binoculars of hers this whole time.’
“Her what?” Ryan flipped about to look at her situated on the runway and faltered slightly, nearly face-faulting out of the sky. “...that explains why we put the uniforms on before any sort of initial test. Hmmm….”
‘Should we do anything about that?’
“She hasn’t done anything wrong or pushy so far, so Ah don’t see why we need to worry about it. It’s just…” Ryan finally finished his last lap, touching down for a ten-point landing and striking a pose for show. “Well...it just makes me feel really awkward. Like how things were with Eris…”
‘Except Eris kinda, sorta, had this weird level of being allowed, right?’
Ryan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “...dammit, Dark. Not the time. Speaking of fliers, though, where’s Dashie?”
‘I think I saw her talking to that golden haired pegasus as she blew passed us. Perhaps she made a new friend?’
“Possibly.” Ryan felt his stomach grumble. “Hmm...perhaps they’re at the mess hall?”
‘Something tells me ya just wanna head there cause yer hungry…’
“Can’t it be both?”
‘Fair enough...come on. Should probably fuel up before the next test begins.’

Sure enough, Rainbow had indeed been with the curiously competitive pegasus—whom they now knew to be Lightning Dust—and getting a bite before their next challenge. As it was, both Ryan and Dark couldn’t tell which one of the two pegasi was more eager to prove themselves, let alone as the best. Still, something about this new mare’s attitude didn’t sit well with Ryan.
‘You weren’t too talkative while we ate.’
‘That’s because something doesn’t seem right with this Lightning Dust chick.’ Ryan was washing his face off in the bathroom, readying for their next test in a few minutes. ‘That and, for whatever reason, Ah got this strange feeling that Pinks is sitting at the house, staring at our mailbox.’
‘Eh? Why would she do that? It’s barely been a day.’
“Ah can’t rightly say, partner, but Ah just have this feelings she’s gonna do something silly...and involve mah mares in the process.”
Having finished up, Ryan joined the others back on the runway where a very bizarre machine had been rolled out.
“What’s that?” Came a murmur from the crowd.
“Cadets, this here is the finest in Wonderbolt testing technology: the Dizzitron.”
“Kinda looks like an overclocked carousel on it’s side ta me...a one-seater at that.” Ryan quietly mumbled. “...also, there’s no way Ah’m fitting on that thing.”
“Hahaha, quite the imagination. But! Don’t worry, we thought ahead and modified our other model just for you, Mr. Human.” Spitfire, smirking as another device was rolled out. “Now then, this marvelous piece of tech is designed to simulate a spin-out, and more importantly how well you can recover from it. So then...who’s first?”
“Me!” Rainbow and Lightning pretty much spat out at the same time. “Hey! I called dibs first!”
“Hmmm….you!” Spitfire pointed at one of the other Pegasi that hadn’t been paying much attention and chuckled as she got strapped in. “Alright! Start her up!”
‘...that’s pretty fast. Ya sure ya can handle G’s like that?’
“Ah’ve done a Rainboom, partner.” Ryan twirled to follow as the pegasus was launched out and spun through the air, slowly gaining control and skid-landing to a stop. “Plus with all that fighting we’ve done...please. This should be easy enough.”
“Next up! Rainbow Dash!”
‘Think she’s gonna finish in under ten?’
“Knowing mah rainbow mare, oh yeah. Rock it, Dashie!”
After reaching it’s max windup time, Rainbow was thrown upwards but as expected she easily recovered, zooming down and landing in front of Spitfire like it was nothing. Spitfire blinked before checking her stopwatch in surprise. “Dang! Six seconds? That’s an Academy record there. Heh, not bad.”
“That’s mah Dashie, making it look easy.”
Rainbow smirked as she walked back over to him. “Oh come on Rys, I make everything look easy, remember?”
Dark snorted and chuckled a bit at that. ‘Oh yes, how foolish of us to forget that.’
Though amused as well, Spitfire barked out Lightning’s name next for the test though once she was loaded she had a request.
“What? To maximum? Are you serious?”
“Yes ma’am! I need to push my limits and test the boundaries of what I can do!”
“Heh, you heard guys. Give this cadet what she wants!”
‘...starting to think you're right about this one, partner.’
Ryan merely made a noise of agreement as he tried to keep track with how fast L.D. was spinning before finally being flung away. He had to admit it was impressive how fast she recovered, but it still wasn’t as quick as his Dashie had recovered.
“Now then….how about you?”
Ryan looked left then right before realizing Spitfire was talking to him. “Me?”
“Yeah. Let’s see how you handle a spinout, flyboy. I’m looking forward to seeing those wings of yours in action.”
“Heh, well then. It’s a good thing we feel the need then.”
“...what need?”
“THE NEED FOR SPEED!” Ryan and Dark roared as they strapped in and were sent spinning at ridiculous speeds. “Ya see. This is why. Ah hate. ROLLERCOASTERS!”
“Huh, it’s actually working. That’s a surprise.”
“What?” Rainbow gasped. “You put him in something that wasn’t even tested?!”
“Well, we tested it best we could.” Spitfire laughed sheepishly. “Kinda hard to replicate the real thing since we’ve only the one human in Equestria. Besides he’s...oops.”
“Oops? What do you mean by ‘oops’, ma’am?”
Well, said oops would be the sized-up Dizzitron starting to smoke and sputter before the harness broke free, sending poor Ryan careening through the sky.
“Oh shit.” Ryan watched the world spinning rapidly as he tried to shuck off the harness. “Ugh...mah sense of direction’s all fuzzled up.”
‘Just shatter it, Ry!’
“Right!” Ryan roared, releasing a burst of ice magic that froze his harness. Following up with an exaggerated movement of his arms and legs he broke it into shards that fell away from him. “Now that just leaves the insane dizziness. Which way’s the ground, partner?”
‘Uhm….uh….that way?’ Dark mentally pointed in three different directions.
“Lovely!” Focusing as hard as he could, Ryan spread his wings wide to halt his spinning before finally orienting himself correctly. Giving a quick counter spin, he finally could see straight and folded his wings, diving down towards the other cadets and Spitfire. Moments before impact he opened them wide, slowing his descent and landing on one foot. “Nailed it!”
“Heh...ten seconds. Considering what happened, not too bad. Not a record, but well done.”
“Ya know…” Ryan smirked, before winking at Spitfire. “Considering Ah’m the only human cadet y’all have had, pretty sure anything Ah do is a record, Spits.”
“Mmmm, we might just have to test that then.”
“Huh?”
“Just glad you're okay. Now then...NEXT!”

After everypony else had their turn, and Spitfire had noted that she’d be splitting them into teams the following morning, Ryan had returned to his room to get a change of clothes before heading to the shower to clean up.
“Ugh...this water feels good.” Ryan sighed, just standing in the shower. “Kinda makes me forget how we could’ve totally died, right partner?”
‘More or less. What the heck was Spits thinking putting ya in that contraption?’
“Probably too stuck on the sight of me in that skin-tight suit. Man, now Ah know how them comic heroes feel wearing that stuff. That or Link.” Ryan sighed again before washing his hair and groaning as he got soap in his eyes. “Dammit all! Everytime!”
‘What is it with you and blinding yourself in the shower?”
“Hell if Ah know.” Ryan grumbled, fumbling about for a towel...and somehow finding one. “...odd. Ah don’t remember the towel bar being there.”
“Oh, that’s because it wasn’t.”
Trying to focus through his stinging eyes, Ryan saw a familiar shade of orange and yellow. “Spits…?”
“Yeah. Saw you could use a...hand. Funny thing, I might need one, too.”
“What? Wait...Gah!” Ryan quickly wrapped the towel around himself before his face flushed red. “The hell are you doing in here?!”
“What? It’s the showers. Usually one comes here to get clean.” Spitfire calmly remarked as she stepped over and turned one on. “Awwwww. So refreshing.”
‘...damn. Talk about being caught off-guard.’
“Shush! Spits...what Ah mean is why are you, a female, in the men’s shower?”
“Oh. That’s easy: we don’t have a separate facility. Everypony shares the showers.” Spitfire shook her head, luxuriating in the hot water. “It’s not really a big deal.”
“It kinda is since Ah was, ya know, naked?!”
Spitfire smirked before washing her mane. “Oh please, us ponies are always naked and you don’t see us freaking out.”
“You know there’s a big difference since Ah’m not a pony.” Ryan turned to glare at Spits, but only flushed red again when she began soaping herself up. “Yeesh, must you do that?”
“What? Shower? Well, that is what you do when you get sweaty, right? Oh!” Spitfire turned and smirked. “Seeing as you are here, big boy, mind lending me those hands of yours and helping get around my wings? I always have a lot of trouble getting right between them.”
“WHAT?!” Ryan gasped, stuttering to come up with an excuse at such a thought. “Uhm...uh...Ah think...Ah might have...left...the light on?”
“The light, huh?”
“Oh yeah. The light.” Ryan laughed nervously. “Ya know...can’t let that bulb get too hot, or the magic might explode! So...bye!”
With that he dashed out of there, passing a very confused Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust.
“Hey, wasn’t that your weird monkey boyfriend?”
“Well, he’s not a monkey, but he’s certainly weird.” Rainbow looked in the direction he’d run off towards before shrugging and entering the showers with Lightning. “Wonder what had him running out of here with only a towel on?”

‘Okay...so...she’s clearly trying to seduce you, Ryan.’
“Ya think?” Ryan sighed, rolling outta bed the next morning and reluctantly getting ready. “Well, can’t exactly avoid her so best go see what teams she made.”
Heading to the mess hall, Ryan saw Rainbow Dash looking a little bummed out. “What’s the matter, hon?”
“...she made me a wing pony.”
‘What? With your skills? That seems odd, Speedy Snooze.’
“And if that’s not strange enough, just go check out who you got paired with.”
Feeling that to be ominous, Ryan looked over the list and seemed confused. “...wut?”
‘Uhm, so...that says your Lead Pony teamed up with Spits. The hell?’
“So Dashie what does…” Ryan looked around to see her gone. “Dashie?”
Not sure where she had disappeared to, but figuring she’d find her way back, he quickly ate breakfast before joining up with the other recruits for their next challenge. Oddly, Rainbow had returned looking a bit off and Spits was no longer in her dress uniform, but in her actual Wonderbolts uniform.
‘Guess that means she is gonna tag up with us.’
“Yeah...clearly she’s crushing hard on me. What the hell man?” Ryan sighed heavily. “Who could possibly get entertainment out of me being in such a situation?”
We both know who, Ryder.
“...” Ryan pinched his nose before sighing. “Yeah, yeah…”
“Today we are holding a flag hunt!”
‘Sounds like fun.’
“If you think that, you’re quite wrong, Darkness.” Spitfire paced back and forth, making sure all the teams were at full attention. “You’ll be split into two teams, and if you separate from your assigned wing or lead pony you’ll be disqualified. Work together to find the most flags!”
“Okay, but ma’am? Why are you dressed for flight?”
“Heh, well, seeing as we have an odd number of recruits, I’ve taken the liberty of assigning our flyboy human to me. Given how he handles things, it would take a skilled flier to keep up with him.”
“Hence yer making yerself mah wingpony partner.”
“Exactly! Show me what you’ve got, Ryan.”
“...fine. Let’s do this.” With that Ryan jetted off into the air, intent on giving Spits what she wanted.
‘Are you sure that’s wise?’
‘She wants mah best, she’ll get it!’
And thus the flag fest was in full swing, ponies zooming left and right all in search of flags for their team. From what he could see, Dashie was having no issues keeping pace with her lead, but as for him, it seemed as if his wingpony was doing all in her power to stay behind him.
‘Dude, she’s totally checking out yer butt in this outfit.’
Sighing in response to his mental counterpart’s riveting statement, he spotted a flag and began dive bombing towards it...only to see Lighting Dust diving full force towards it as well. At the last minute, Ryan had to swerve to avoid a collision, before turning around and glaring at the mare. “What the hell are you trying to do? Ya damn near plowed into me!”
“Heh, but I didn’t. And I got the flag. That’s all that matters, right ma’am?”
“Oh. What?” Spitfire shook off the trance she’d been in. “Well yeah! You have to do your best, so do what ya can to achieve that!”
Ryan and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and frowned, but said nothing besides that.
“Well, what are you all standing around for? Get back to it!”

“...Ah get the feeling something’s up with Dashie and her partner.”
‘Yeah. That Lightning Dust is all shades of reckless from what I observed. Hard to believe that the Wonderbolts think that is what makes a good candidate.’
“Hmmm…”
“Alright! Good work with the flag drills, but don’t get cocky! It’s time for this!” Spitfire motioned to her right and grinned. “This is the ultimate test of your abilities and flying aptitude! But I will make one thing clear: This is NOT a race. There is no winning or losing. It is merely designed to test your prowess and get a clear view of what you can do. Understand?”
With a reply of mostly ‘yes’ and ‘of course’, the cadets made their way to the start, but right away Dark noticed something off. ‘Ryan? That Lightning character is kinda knocking other ponies away.’
“Yeah, Ah’ve noticed. Any thoughts on that, Spits?”
“Oh, she’s just being enthusiastic.” She brushed it off before huffing. “Besides, you need to focus. You and those sweet wings of yours.”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Please. This course is similar to the one you had set up at your show last year in Cloudsdale. It’s a piece of cake for yours truly.”
Needless to say, it was but Ryan wasn’t really in the mood considering the way he saw Dashie’s teammate treat the others. And Dash going along with her, he could sense she didn’t like it but something was forcing her hand.
“Mmmmhmmm, those moves were pretty fine back there, fly guy.”
Ryan yelped when Spitfire smacked his rear, snapping from his thoughts. “The hell!?”
“What? Can’t I give you a congratulatory plot slap? Besides, those moves will come in handy with our next test. Let’s see how that style of yours handles the raw forces of nature!!”
‘...I’m beginning to think Spits is not as she’s portrayed.’
“What makes ya say that, partner?”
‘She’s saying that...about clouds. Not thunderstorms, not ice storms. No. Just simple, everyday, normal moisture-born puffs of wispiness.’
“Well, Ah mean, technically it doesn’t get any more raw than that. Base component wise, anyway.”
‘...yer not helping, Ry.’
“Maybe not you.” Ryan snickered, sticking out his tongue. “But you’ve a point. Spits is getting a bit loopy. Then again, staring at mah fine behind would do that ta any mare. Yeah!”
“Indeed. Get that behind of yours in gear and give me a hand assisting those that had a problem with the precision aspect of the course so we can get onto the next test.”
Rolling his eyes, Ryan gave Spitfire a hand helping untangle the other cadets from their tossed about states. Eyeing Dashie and Lightning walk off, he still couldn't shake the bad feeling he got from that mare and what her actions were forcing his rainbow mare ta do all in the name of becoming a Wonderbolt.

With the blow of a whistle, the teams took off to bash away the clouds hovering above the academy grounds. As expected, most of the teams took the direct approach and plowed, flew, punched, kicked, and dashed their way through the clouds to blast them away.
“Heh, this ain’t that hard.”
‘...would be easier if our “teammate” would assist.’
Looking over his shoulder to see Spitfire off in her own world, he shook his head. “It’s the wings, isn’t it? If it wasn’t for those, Ah highly doubt she’d be acting so goofy.”
‘Or maybe she’s just got a thing for tall, mysterious men.’ Dark snickered. ‘Well, at least it seems as if things are going smoothly this time.’
“Why did you say that?”
“Hey, Ryan! Check this out! Follow my lead!”
Wondering what she was up to, Ryan watched Spitfire flying quickly towards a rather large collection of clouds and gave chase; given her actions he figured she wanted to tag-team this particular batch. Of course, what he wasn’t expecting was for her to yelp moments before he saw her start plummeting to the ground.
“What the hell?!” Ryan gasped, dive bombing to try and catch up to her. “Spits!”
‘She must’ve pulled something. Her wing looked oddly bunched up before she fell. We’ve gotta catch her!’
Giving only a nod in return, Ryan poured on the speed as he tried to catch up to her. Just as he finally grabbed hold of her and thought he could relax, he felt a rather intense gust of wind from out of nowhere.
“...that can’t be good.” Quickly looking his shoulder confirmed this as a massive twister was heading their way, sending them two of them spinning wildly. Grunting, Ryan forced himself right but not without growling in pain as he struggled to keep aloft. “The hell…?! Wait a minute! Spitfire!”
‘She’s down there!’ Dark noted, seeing her on the ground. And safely at that. ‘How did she…?’
“Hold on...her wing.”
‘She was faking? Why?’
“...of all the...wait? What’s that rising above the clouds?”
‘Is that...Twily’s balloon? What the heck are they doing here?!’ Dark gasped. ‘Wait! The tornado!!!’
“Oh no!”
Sure enough, the balloon was helplessly sucked into the tornado, the other members of his herd were screaming in hysterics as they were tossed about. Rushing as best he could to save them, he gasped as his wings faltered. “Dammit! Diving after Spits and then saving us from that spin-out...Ah think Ah pulled something. There’s no way Ah’ll make it in time!!”
At that moment, a blur of color tore through the sky, squashing together a mess of clouds that cushioned and then bounced the girls back up where the other cadets finally grabbed them and set them down on the more solid hovering ground of the runway. Slowly floating down with a grunt, Ryan smiled when he saw they were alright.
“Good job, Dashie. That was way too close for comfort.” Ryan sighed before shaking his head. “But what are y’all doing here?”
“Well, Apple Ryder, Pinkie missed the two of ya something fierce, so she wanted ta bring ya a care package so ya wouldn’t forget her.”
“Forget Pinks? Is that even possible?” Ryan laughed softly. “You crazy ponk you, how could anyone ever forget you of all ponies?”
“Well, you never can be too careful.” Pinkie giggled, “But man, that was some ride.”
“I’ll say!” Lightning Dust touched down, grinning at her handiwork. “Not a cloud left, nothing but clear sky! Man I’m awesome!”
Just as Ryan was about to unload on this reckless mare, Rainbow beat him to it. “Awesome?! Awesome!? My friends could’ve been killed! And over what?!”
“Oh come on. They’re fine, right? Besides, we took out so many, it’d take forever for the other cadets to win.” Lightning held out a hoof, still wearing that cocky smile.
“A hoof bump? Are you nuts?! You’re reckless! You made me hurt myself with your disregard to safety, clobbered our fellow cadets on that obstacle course, and then nearly killed my friends. You’re damn stupid if you think I’m gonna hoof bump you after all that!”
Lightning Dust scoffed. “If I’m so damn stupid, why did Spitfire make me lead pony? Clearly the Wonderbolts want someone like that, otherwise you wouldn’t be wing pony.”
“You know what? Yeah, she did.” Rainbow glared at Lightning before taking off.
“Where is she…?” Ryan looked around, suddenly remembering Spitfire’s stupid stunt that complicated things. “Oh yeah! Where did Spits get of to?”
‘Good question. Maybe we should check her office.’

Spitfire was indeed in her office, trying to recoup from the twister that caused issues and ruined her little ploy. “Dang it. Was in his arms and everything.”
A sudden knock at the door startled her, but only for a moment. “Who is it?”
Not bothering to wait for permission to enter, Rainbow pushed it open. “Rainbow Dash, ma’am.”
“Oh. Shouldn’t you be up there busting clouds? This better be important.”
“They’re all gone, ma’am. No thanks to Lightning Dust.”
“Really? How so?”
“That tornado. She decided on that as a plan of attack.”
“Hmmm...excessive, but effective I guess. Despite messing up my plans…”
Dashie raised an eyebrow at that one. “Ma’am?”
“Anyway, what’s the issue?”
“The issue is that as effective as that was, it not only hurt my stallion, but almost cost my herdmates their lives. There’s a big difference between pushing yourself and being reckless, and clearly you guys don’t care to differentiate despite one being the wrong way to advance.” Rainbow Dash reached up and pulled her badge off, setting it on Spitfire’s desk. “And if the Wonderbolts reward recklessness, then I can’t be a part of them…”
With that Rainbow exited the office, not bothering to look back.
Before Spitfire could recover and make a move to catch up to her, Ryan showed up in the doorway to her office looking a might irritated.
“Oh. Ryan.” Spitfire narrowed her eyes slightly in an attempt ta be flirty. “What are you doing here?”
“Cut the crap, Spits. Ah’m done playing around.”
“What?”
“Ah played along, came here with Dashie like ya requested, because Ah love her enough to tolerate whatever stupid ploy ya had running through yer head when ya came up with that. Her dream to be a Wonderbolt meant a lot to her, and so Ah made sure it could happen. But ever since Ah got here, you’ve been making them eyes at me, those comments, and even faking an injury so Ah’d save you.”
“....”
Ryan sighed. “Look, Ah don’t get why y’all seem so drawn to me. Maybe it’s a human thing, maybe it’s the wings, maybe it’s the fact that males are so grossly outnumbered by females here.”
‘Hell, maybe it’s Maybelline.’
“Or maybe it’s just funny to something beyond us...in fact, there’s a good chance that’s definitely part of it. But no matter how much ya might be attracted ta me, Spits, it won’t happen. Ah’ve got seven lovely mares that mean the world ta me, and what we’ve got is special. We’re complete. We’ve all agreed on that and Ah’m not one ta break a promise like that. So Ah suggest ya cool yer jets, accept that fact, and quit the shenanigans.”
Calmly removing his Lead Pony badge, he sat it on the table—though not before curiously eyeing the Wing Pony badge sitting there already—before turning towards the door. “Ah’m sorry, Spits. But Ah’m done here. Though if you try ta take it out on mah Dashie, and keep her dream from happening…”
‘We’ve connections you don’t want on your bad side.’ Dark let the threat sit for a bit before smirking as it finally dawned on her. ‘Yeah. You know who I’m talking about, Spits.’
Ryan paused a moment at the door, sensing Dark still had something to say.
‘If...if it means anything, you are very pretty and that determination of yours is admirable. Ya just didn’t find Ryan fast enough, and for the heartache yer gonna feel cause of that...we’re sorry.’
With that they left a rather flabbergasted Spitfire staring into space as her mind tried to process just what had happened with both Rainbow Dash and Ryan.

“You just up and quit!?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“But darling, this was your dream.”
Rainbow sighed. “Maybe...but I’m just gonna have to find a new one.”
“There you are!” Ryan remarked, happy to see Dashie was with the rest of his herd. “Ah was wondering where ya vanished to after Ah saw ya walking away from Spitfire’s office. Speaking of...what were you doing there?”
“Quitting.”
‘What?! Why?!’
“The Wonderbolts aren’t...aren’t who I thought they were. Not if they reward the way she was acting so…”
“Ryan Ryder! Rainbow Dash!”
Both of them whirled to see Spitfire of all ponies calling their names, her two assistants as well as what appeared to be Lightning Dust following her.
“What did she say your name, Rys? What did you talk to her about?”
‘Hmm...I do wonder just what she wants to say.’
“How dare you two storm away like that without even giving me a chance to respond! Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts are looking for the best flyers out there...which is why you’re right that it shouldn’t come at the cost of safety of others as well as watching out for the wellbeing of your fellow fliers. Pushing ourselves in the right direction should always come first, and you totally showed that today. You’re no wingpony, you’re a lead pony.” With that she walked over to Lightning, tore the badge from her suit, and then placed it on Rainbow’s instead.
“Oh my Gosh, oh my Gosh, oh my Gosh!”
“Now then! Get up there and give me twenty!”
Rainbow saluted. “Yes ma’am!”
With that Ryan smiled as he watched her fly up to the others who returned her salute before they began to fly off. “Well done, hon.”
“As for you, Mr. Ryder.”
“Hmmm?”
“It was very unprofessional of me to not only force you to come with such tactics, but then to allow myself to be so unfocused that I didn’t notice any of what was going on. Especially to the point of others getting hurt.” Spitfire sighed, pulling out his lead pony badge as well. “Even though you didn’t intend to become one of us, you're more than capable of being one. Your ability to handle the nonsense I put you through with such grace and to still respond to trouble when it showed up...you’d make a great addition to our ranks. If you’ll accept that is. I can understand if you don’t…”
‘Aw hell, Spits…’
“Hahaha.” Ryan took his badge before carefully placing it on his suit. “Ah will admit, being part of this world’s Blue Angels would be a pretty sweet deal. Ah’m game if you are...oh.”
“Hmmm? What is it?”
“Just one condition…” Ryan leaned down to whisper as he gestured towards Lightning. “Her heart’s kinda in the right place, but she needs discipline to help her control those reckless tendencies. While Ah’m pretty sure yer plannin’ ta kick her out, maybe reconsider and find a way to help her learn so that she can succeed at becoming a Wonderbolt the right way.”
“Okay...but why? She nearly got your herd killed.”
“Maybe...but the look on her face when you ripped the badge away. Ah don’t know...Ah’m just a sucker for mares maybe, but she deserves some kinda chance ta make things right. Be a shame to waste that talent all because she doesn’t have great self-control on her thoughts.”
“Well…” Spitfire seemed a bit conflicted, till she apparently had an idea. “Okay. I think I know what I can do. Lightning Dust!”
Having been staring at the ground, Lightning was a bit startled to hear her name. “Yes?”
“Come here.”
“...yes ma’am?”
“The type of actions you displayed here show a lack of maturity when it comes to thinking through your actions and making decisions in regards to the well-being of your whole team and not just yourself.” Spitfire smirked slightly. “However, you have talent and it would be a shame to waste that. Despite my desire to kick you completely to the curb, Mr. Ryder here has made me see that doing so might not be the best idea.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“What it means, Lightning Dust, is that I will be finding you the assistance you need to work on that decision making. So while you aren’t quite ready for the Reserves yet, if you put your all into improving yourself in that regard, you might just still make the cut.”
“I...I don’t know what to say...honestly I’m not sure how to feel. Why would you try to defend me—to forgive me even—when my arrogant actions damn near killed somepony?”
Ryan shrugged. “Well, considering Ah forgave the god of Chaos despite the fact he killed me, it’s pretty clear Ah feel everyone deserves a second chance. It won’t be easy, and not gonna lie, the way you’ve acted here shows you’ve got a lot to learn.”
‘But if you’re willing to take the help, then as Spits said, all that raw talent would be a terrible thing to waste. So don’t waste this chance….cause you probably won’t get another one.’
Lightning Dust took all this in before slowly nodding. “I know I don’t really deserve such kindness after how I behaved but...thank you. For now, I’d like to just shower and collect my thoughts. If I may, ma’am?”
Spitfire signaled she could and so she was escorted off, leaving Ryan and his herd to watch Dashie flying around with the others.
“Ahem!”
“Huh?”
“Mr. Ryder. I do believe you are a member of the Reserve now, correct?”
“Why yes...hahaha.” Ryan smirked, flapping his wings. “Ah get what yer hinting at.”
“Good. Now get up there and show me what you’ve got!”
With that Ryan flew up and off to join the other pegasi flying in formation, all while his herd watched from the ground. Everything was calm until Pinkie suddenly exclaimed in despair. “Waaaaaaaaaait! You didn’t even look at the care package I brought!”

A short time later, after having returned to Ponyville and resuming their normal routine, Ryan had been peacefully working in the study when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Figuring one of the others would get it, he was slightly irritated as the knocking continued. Sighing, he stood up and went to answer, only to see no one there. The only thing he did see was a package, floating about pony eye level.
“Hmmm….” Reaching to grab it, he found he could and then saw a letter addressed to Twilight from Celestia and Luna. “Weird...wonder what this is? Looks like a book...Yo! T-Sparks! Package for ya!”
Jumping back slightly at the poof of purple magic, Ryan glared at his book mare for plopping in so suddenly. “Ya know, a bit of warning would’ve been nice.”
“Sorry dear.” Twilight took the offered package before tearing it open. “It’s a book! A really old looking one at that, too.”
‘...I know that symbol…’
“Dark?”
‘...that...that’s my mentor’s symbol.’
“Star-Swirl?” Twilight began reading the note that had been sent with it. “It is! Princess Celestia has apparently given me a task. There’s a spell in here, one that Star-Swirl was unable to finish. Apparently I’m the only one that can solve it? Really? I’ll certainly give it my best, but...hmmm.”
‘Be careful, Twily. As you know, Master came up with a lot of powerful magic...so if it’s something he couldn’t finish, take caution.’
“I will, Darkness. I wonder what the spell is anyway?” Twilight flipped through the book before plopping in a chair. “There’s so much in here I could learn...so many lessons, so many spells...to think Star-Swirl himself once held this book. Ah!”
“Did ya find it, hon?” Ryan peered over her shoulder to take a look as well. “...gotta say, his penmanship is surprisingly neat. With how he acted Ah expected some crazy chicken-scratch only he’d be able ta read.”
‘As you’ll recall from our meeting with him, Master is full of surprises. Still...why would Tia send you this?’
“Another lesson, perhaps? Or maybe a...test?” Twilight shrugged before finally finding the unfinished spell. “Here we go. It says “From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.””
“...the hell is that supposed ta mean?” Ryan shook his head and sighed. “Once again, yer mentor ain’t making a lick o’ sense, partner.”
‘I must admit, even I am unsure as to what this spell’s purpose could’ve been. Hopefully speaking it aloud won’t have any weird consequences.’
“Well, it’s unfinished so it shouldn’t even work...either way, it’s getting late.” Twilight turned around before rising, only to tug at Ryan’s shirt. “You need ta get cleaned up for bed, mister. You’ve been in that study since breakfast doing who knows what, and while the scent of you hard at work isn’t all that bad, we much prefer the scent of you squeaky clean.”
Rolling his eyes and muttering a ‘yes, dear’, Ryan followed along to get cleaned up, Dark in tow making yet another wisecrack at his expense. What none of them noticed was the book letting out a soft glow that resonated with the Elements of Harmony nearby, setting off a chain reaction of events that would change their lives forever.

The following morning, Ryan awoke to find all his mares save for Lyra missing. Finding that ta be a bit curious, he gently shook said mint pone only for her to sigh and roll over, her tongue flopping out slightly on to the arm she was currently pinning.
“Heartsy…” He smirked before reaching up and brushing his fingers over her stomach. “Wake up!”
Letting out a snort of laughter and actually neighing, Lyra flopped about before rolling over and staring into Ryan’s eyes. “Ryers! You know I’m ticklish there when you aren’t slowly doing it! What gives?”
“Haha, couldn’t resist. But ya kinda had mah arm trapped and...to be honest, it seems too quiet in here.”
Lyra yawned cutely before swishing her tail slightly. “Maybe they just had some important business come up? You know how the Princess can be with her sudden summons.”
“Maybe...but something doesn’t feel right. Not sure why, but mah gut feels off about something.”
Hopping out of bed and getting dressed for the day, Ryan and Lyra headed downstairs to see things a bit in disarray as well as the front door wide open.
‘Odd...it’s almost like someone left in a hurry after noticing something.’
“The question is…” Ryan paused as he looked out the window.
“That question is what, Ryers?”
“The question is possibly answered. Those clouds look really funky for some reason.”
Sure enough, said clouds appeared ta be weaved together, almost like a quilt of some kind.
‘Well, that explains the snow, rain, and sun all happening at once.’ Dark sighed. ‘I wonder if Disky had a hand in this one?’
“No, no….while it seems like something he’d do, it’s too tame for his style. Something else is going on with this.”
“Maybe we should find the others, they might know what’s going on.”
“Good idea, Heartsy! Let’s head towards town and see if they might be there!”
As the—technically—three of them ran off to find their herdmates, a figure watched them run off while chuckling softly. Sensing that the time was soon to enact its plan, the figure vanished from sight…

“Rares is making weather, Apps was trying to sew...and Flutters was trying to make everypony laugh.” Ryan rubbed his forehead in thought. “What the hell is wrong with them?”
“Their cutie marks were all wrong as well.” Lyra scrunched up her face. “Do you think the others were caught up in this as well?”
‘Considering the fact that Twily wasn’t to be found, odds are that yes is the answer. More than likely she’s trying to figure out what’s happening. But switching cutie marks...I’ve never heard of a such a magic spell before.’ Dark growled slightly in frustration. ‘How would one even figure out a way to do that?’
“How indeed. Hahahaha.”
The three there whipped their heads about trying to figure out where that voice had come from, only to stare at a shadowy figure in the distance.
“Ryers...that…”
“Yeah, looks like me...Ah don’t know what’s going on here, but Ah’ve got a hunch our mystery man there has a hand in this!”
“Hahaha, perhaps I do or perhaps I don’t. Either way, follow me if you want some answers.”
With that the fake Ryan began running away, prompting the three of them to give chase.
‘This feels like a trap to me...anyone else sensing that?’
“Yeah. It’s clear he doesn’t want us to find Twily for some reason, but Ah’m willing to bet there’s more going on here than we realize.” Ryan huffed as the stranger stayed just one step ahead of them, continuing to lead them all around town. “Dammit! Stay still and let me catch up to ya, ya damn doppelganger!”
“Where would the fun be in that?” The fake him taunted, rounding a corner and out of sight momentarily.
“Ry! If he loses us….”
“Ah know Heartsy, we can’t let him get away.” With that they turned the corner only to see...nothing. There was nopony, no human, no one at all there. “How…?”
‘You know, this streetway seems awfully quiet...suspiciously quiet.’ Dark seemed to be thinking before smirking. ‘Ryan? Walk down the street. If I’m right, we might just get to the bottom of this mystery.’
“Well then, Dark, Ah’ll trust yer judgement. Heartsy…”
“No way, Ryers! I’m sticking to you! Nothing is keeping me from helping. I know...I know I’m not an Element bearer, but I’m still one of your mares and I won’t abandon you.” Lyra winked and stuck out her tongue. “Even if we’re heading into something unknown. Besides, if all else fails, they’ll feel my flames of fury!”
“Hahaha, alright then.”
With that the trio walked down the street and, sure enough, vanished from sight...only to be missed by Twilight and Spike who were running around in a state of worry.
“How can I fix this? Everything is so wrong. My peach...where are you when we need your help?”

Where was Ryan indeed, that was certainly the question. After having vanished from Ponyville, he, Dark, and Lyra were trying their best to ascertain exactly where they had ended up. Judging by the wild sky patterns, strange land masses, and bizarre creatures flying about, it was rather clear they were not in Ponyville anymore.
“Perhaps not even Equestria. Where did that doppleganger lead us?”
‘Well, there he is in that oddly out of place field...let’s go find out.’
The figure smiled and clapped slightly as they came to a stop close to him. “Well done. Mr. Ryder, Mr. Shade, and Ms. Heartstrings. Such bravery to follow after me.”
“Heh, if you’re pretending to be me, ya should’ve known how Ah’d react.” Ryan slowly moved his hand to rest on his blade’s hilt. “Now then...you best be talking or things are going to very quickly get real.”
“My my, so eager. Then again, this is your beloved herd we’re talking about. The ones you’d be ever so lost without. If you want answers.” The fake Ryan reached up and pulled out his own version of Malus Domestica. “You know what you must do...but I know what I’d prefer for you to do.”
“Oh really?” Ryan smirked as he drew his blade. “Ah reckon ya might want me to say something about how “ya ain’t me” and such, right?”
The shadowy Ryan laughed softly before his eyes shined yellow. “Indeed. But I know that’s not gonna happen. Still...for the sake of enjoyment, let’s start this off right!”
Unleashing a wave of energy, the now decidedly dark looking version of himself cackled malevolently. “I am a Shadow... The true self...how was that?”
“Haha, perfect! Especially since Ah get to say words Ah’ve always wanted to since that game came out: Ah’ll Face Mahself!!!” Ryan spun Malus Domestica around before motioning for Lyra to get back. “Keep back and find cover, Lyra. If this guy really is supposed ta be some dark version of mahself, then who knows what might happen.”
With that he dashed at his copy, their blades striking and clanging as they unleashed a flurry of swipes upon the other. Blow after blow rang out, but neither one could seem to land a hit on the other’s body. Hopping back, Ryan figured a change of strategy was needed. “Let’s see how ya handle this! Propogate! Malus Domestica!”
“Heh, you tell me, Mr. Ryder.” The fake Ryan copied his actions, producing a copy of his fake Malus Domestica as well. “I’m your shadow, remember? Whatever you do, I can do as well!”
‘...somehow I doubt that.’ Dark muttered as Ryan charged in again, the same result occurring but with double the noise as the now four blades clashed and sparked as the two Ryans moved about the field. Eventually, the real Ryan got fed up and began unleashing blasts of magic that proved rather ineffective as the fake him copied him flawlessly. Each blast fizzled and exploded as it contacted its twin, leaving Ryan and Dark a bit puzzled as to what to do next.
‘Any ideas, partner?’ Ryan grimaced as his doppelganger smirked.
‘Well, it’s clear whomever this is knows about you quite well.’ Dark thought for a second before grinning. ‘So then you just need to do something that he has no idea you can do yet.’
‘There’s a few things but...some of them Ah don’t wanna show off just yet. What could Ah possibly do out of…!’
‘Haha, there we go. Figured it out!’
“Hahahahahahahaha.”
The fake Ryan seemed puzzled by the laughter and demanded to know just what was so damn funny.
“The fact that Ah figured you out. See, ya can copy most of what Ah’ve done because of one simple thing.”
“Because I’m you?”
“Nope. Because you’ve seen us fight, you know about us...but tell me, how far down that hole have you gone? Ah guarantee, there’s some things you’ve no clue about...but hey!” Ryan roared and flared his Elemental Sync. “Let’s find out, eh?”
With that he flew towards his opponent, not surprised at all to see an Elemental Sync staring back at him. The shockwave of their strikes sent snowflakes flying every which way, which only seemed to excite Ryan even more.
“Okay...okay...not bad. So you’ve kept up that far. Then how about….this! Soul Cross!”
“Let’s see you try and copy this much raw awesomeness, faker!” Dark growled, unsheathing Eclipsis and smirking.
“Seems easy enough.” Came the response, Dark’s spitting image staring at him though with darker features. “Why so surprised? You and Ryan are connected, right? So why would it not stand that your shadow resides within me as well?”

As the fight continued on, this time Dark clashing with himself and sending blasts of lightning across the battlefield, Lyra looked on in worry and confusion.
“Ooooh, this can’t be right. There’s no way an evil version of Ryan and Dark exists. This all has to be some kind of magical illusion. The question is...who would do such a…!” Lyra scrunched her face up as she looked about the unusual scenery. “Of course...it’s so obvious to not be obvious to be obvious! There’s only one creature who would enjoy this much raw chaos...Discord.”
“Mmmmmmyes?” Discord poofed into existence behind Lyra, though at a smaller scale than usual. “Did you summon me, Miss Heartstrings?”
“Gah!” Lyra nearly lept out of her fur at that before glaring at Discord. “I knew it! I knew you’d be here! So what’s the deal?! I thought you weren’t out to cause this kind of trouble anymore?”
“Oh, such hurtful words from the mint one.” Discord sighed, clutching his chest. “Oh the ache, deep in my heart. Please, Miss Heartstrings, do give me some credit. While this is certainly entertaining, you have my word that this little doppel-nonsense is not my doing.”
Lyra eyed him for a long while, despite the noises of the battlefield distracting her thoughts with worry over her human. Eventually she sighed and nodded. “Yeah...it’s rather clear you have changed, so I believe you. But if you aren’t behind this, than just who the hell is?!”
“Haha, that is the question is it not?” Discord snapped his fingers, poofing up two chairs and some popcorn. “Why not take a load off and enjoy the show? You have my promise that Ryan will be unharmed. This is merely...a test.”
“A test of what, exactly?”
“Why of his resolve, amongst other things. Something big is on the horizon, and he needs to be ready.”
Eventually, having reached the height of their own individual prowess not seen since their duel with DJ and Malice Sparkle, Ryan and Dark panted as they were quickly running out of options.
“Ah must say, you’ve done well to keep up with us this far. You’ve clearly studied us intently.”
“Don’t tell me that’s all you have. Surely you have something else to try.”
Ryan grimaced before grinning. “You know what? Yeah! Ah do!” With that he flapped his wings hard, gaining more and more altitude before shouting as loud as he could. “Even if you’ve done all that, there’s no way you have the skill to match this move! Few others do, so let’s see you try to copy this! Dark!”
‘Right! Yer ready, partner!’
“Then here we go!!!!!” Ryan roared, diving towards the ground at insane speeds. Slowly but surely, flecks of color formed around his body and then. “It’s Shadeboom time, bitches!”
A crack of sound and explosion of grey, black, and purple rang forth as Ryan zoomed towards his doppelganger. Though at first he had expected Ryan to pull up, it became quite clear what his intentions were.
“Impossible! Are you insane?!?!?”
“Ah’m human….so that answer is pretty much yes!! Let’s go, Dark!!!”
‘Hell yeah!’
“Ultimate Speeding Strike of Justice: DARKNESS SHADEBOMB!!!”
With an explosion that would probably level a town or two, Ryan collided with his shadow self and sent a cloud of dust flying for miles around. Discord had acted quickly to shield Lyra, the debris and shockwave not affecting them within his sphere of protection. As it was the greenery as well as the weird animals flying about were tossed around in the fallout of such an attack. The dust slowly began to settle, showing a massive crater from the resulting smash...but unfortunately Ryan looked worse for the wear.
“Ugh….” Ryan grunted, holding his arm. “Damn. That was a lot more intense than Ah was expecting.”
‘You alright?’
“Yeah, yeah. Nothing broken, luckily, but man Ah’m aching pretty fierce. At least...heh. At least that bastard didn’t see it coming. Speaking of though…” Ryan groaned at seeing his shadow self a bit banged up, but still standing. “Yer a tenacious S.O.B., aintcha?”
“Well, I am supposed to be you, so is that a surprise?”
“Heh...point.” Ryan coughed violently for a bit. “Oh shit….”
‘Ryan!’ Dark gasped as he fell to one knee. ‘I knew we weren’t ready for that yet!’
“Ugh….” Ryan struggled to stay awake, but after falling to one knee that was becoming harder and harder. “...who knew that the most powerful opponent Ah would ever fight...was mahself?”
‘Ryan!’ Dark watched as he collapsed, though the shadow him continued moving closer. ‘No...I...I can’t let this happen! I can’t...without him awake I can’t use Soul Cross….’
“Hahahahaha. Guess you just didn’t have what it took. Pity, but perhaps you aren’t ready just yet.”
‘No. No! We won’t go down like this! I refuse to let this happen to him! I….’ Dark suddenly paused, finally realizing something. ‘...it has to work, this time. It must work! I wanted to save this for the sequel but...to hell with the sequel!’
The shadow Ryan stopped, confused at the strange events happening to Ryan’s body and just now hearing the ramblings of Darkness Shade. “What...what is going on?”
‘Making sure...that my brother...doesn’t go down like this!!!!!!’ Dark growled loudly as lightning began to arc forth from Ryan’s body.
“What are you doing?!?!”
‘Saving the day! SOUL! SEPARATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ Dark roared, a blinding flash of light blanketing the area in its glow.

Peering from behind their shades that Discord had so kindly produced, Lyra and said draconequus were unsure as to what just happened.
“First that bomb attack, and now Dark just went nuts. What in the name of Celestia is going on?”
“Here.” Discord handed her a book as well as a pencil. “A gift. You’re going to want to document this down. What we’re going to witness here...it’s going to be spectacular~”
As the light faded, Ryan’s body still lay collapsed on the ground...however, standing above him, Eclipsis at the ready, was the one, the only: Darkness Shade.
“....how?”
“How?” Dark smirked. “By never resting on our laurels, by always pushing our limits, and by the grace of knowing a man that has a heart bigger than all of Equestria. Heh...he always swore he’d help me get a body of my own again one day...and it looks like he wasn’t a liar.”
“No! There’s no way this is possible!”
“Oh but there is. For whatever reason, it finally worked when I needed it to do so the most!” Dark roared and flared straight to his Elemental Sync MK.II, lightning ricocheting all over the place. “Whoever you might be—and I’m beginning to think I know who—it’s time we ended this farce!”
“Heh. If you are so confident, then by all means come at me...bro?” The fake Ryan blinked and gasped as Dark was already upon him, Eclipsis wrapped in lightning utterly obliterating the fake Malus Domestica. “Impossible! What are you?”
“Me? Just a man with a stylish jacket and shades for days.” Dark easily dodged the punches thrown his way before grabbing hold of the shadowy Ryan and launching him into the air. “I am the last human of Equestria! I am Darkness Shade! And I am ending this. Right! Now! Rawr!”
‘Heh...you’ve come so far. Perhaps you will be ready after all…’
Raising his hand to the sky and taking aim, Dark shouted as loud as he could. “Now show us who you really are! Revealing Shine of Hope! Lunare Lumen!”
With the shining purity of the light of the moon guiding his strike, the shadowy Ryan hissed and growled before succumbing to the might of Dark’s resolve. Dark was slightly puzzled, however, when nothing showed in its place and whatever that had been merely disappeared.
“...so I was only partially right.” Dark smirked as he closed his eyes. “Though not you, it was your handiwork. Isn’t that right...Master?”
The sound of clapping came from his right as a cloaked pony wearing a pointy hat appeared from out of nowhere and stopped in front of him. “Well done, my student. You always did have a knack for deciphering my tests...but I must say, I did not expect you to actually be standing here of your own will.”
“Heh...we’ve been training quite diligently when it comes to the Soul line of magic, Master. It was inevitable that we’d master this one as well...but it seemed I just needed that extra push to force the success.” Dark glanced back at Ryan’s unconscious form. “Needless to say, your doppel magic did a number on the poor guy.”
“Ah yes...I did not expect him to use such an attack on it, but he certainly surprised me by harnessing his Shadeboom in such a way. He truly is a reckless man...but that ability to test limits will be most useful.”
Dark rolled his eyes before laughing. “Haha, there you go, being vague as hell again. Something is happening, isn’t it? That’s why you brought us here. Twily...whatever is happening she has to solve on her own, doesn’t she?”
Star-Swirl nodded. “Yes. Her test is her own this time. She must solve it using her own skills.”
“Okay, but then why this? Why make a magical double of Ryan and lead us here?”
“Heh, that should be simple, Darkness: you two have your own test to deal with. One that so far you’ve done quite well on...but with what is soon to come, it’s imperative you are ready.”
“If Deej were here, he’d probably wanna slap you for being so secretive...but thankfully for your sake, he ain’t.” Dark sighed. “This has to do with what he let slip, doesn’t it? Twily...she’s about to class change, right?”
“Well...you’ll just have to wait till your task is done.”
“Hmmm…”
“...something on your mind, my student?”
“Yes...thinking on all this, it reminds me of something from long ago. Something we once discussed some time after I had acquired my Elemental Sync state.”
Stroking his beard, Star-Swirl nodded at the memory. “Oh yes...I remember that day. What a dreadful day that was when you found your Sync state. When you saw the Lunar Princess go down….”
“...I lost myself to that inner darkness.” Dark squeezed his fists tightly, the sights from that day still fresh in his mind as the day they happened. “I razed that battlefield, electrocuting everything and everyone in sight. I...I won the battle that day...protected Woona...but the loss...the screams...even now, in my quietest moments, I can still see the fear, feel the terror. On that day, I promised to never let that power ever drive me that deep…to never let the darkness blind me like that again.”
“Indeed. It is no small reason you were so agitated by DJ Sparkle at his insistence to dive into the darkness.”
“Yeah, but I can’t ever tell anyone what happened that day. No one should have to bear such terrible memories.”

“...save for you?”
“They are mine. It was my rage, my anger...my inability to control such power that forged such a memory.” Dark shook his head before returning his gaze to his mentor. “But that was a long time ago, when I was young and inexperienced. And now…”
Star-Swirl smirked as Dark powered back up to his Mk.II state. “Now you can control magic far greater than that day, and you have the experience to keep level-headed despite what that form can do to one’s mental state. I am quite proud of all that you have done.”
“That means a lot to me, Master…however.”
“However?”
“However, seeing as we are here, and I can tell you still wish to test me...remember what I first asked before that slight detour down memory lane?”
“About a discussion we had after you’d gained more control of your Elemental Sync?” At this Star-Swirl had to really think, fidgeting with his hat and causing the bells to jingle slightly. “...of course. It was when you asked about Celestia and Luna’s forms.”
“Exactly.” Dark chuckled softly, the silence of the battlefield being replaced with something more...fitting. “Remember how we hypothesized as to whether or not there was a state beyond what Tia and Woona—and now myself—have?”
“A state beyond a Mk.II...yes. As I recall, we deduced that to achieve such a level—were it to even exist—an individual would need either an intense emotional event even stronger than the one that initiated their Elemental Sync…”
“...or a drive so hard that they wouldn’t accept any result other than achieving said state.”
“So then, my pupil, why bring this up?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because all that talk...it wasn’t just theory.”
“...what?”
“It exists, Master. And I’m going to show you it.”
Star-Swirl was confused and, as expected, motioned towards Ryan. “But Ryan...he’s out cold...how…”
Dark slowly shook his head as the lightning around his body began to sizzle and crack. “No, Master….I’m not talking about Kouki.”
Discord could only chuckle from the now more comfortable seating he’d poofed up for him and Lyra to enjoy. “Now, mint mare, watch closely. You are about to witness something that even I thought impossible. We should feel honored to see magic that has never existed before.”
“Mallie...this one is for you.” With that Dark roared loudly, his lightning exploding in all directions as he continued to pant and shout as he gathered and focused his magic. Star-Swirl had to take a step back and hold one hoof up to cover his face at the amount of wind being kicked up, all the while watching his pupil glow brighter and brighter the more he shouted.
“...my word...through all my journeys, all my travels, and all my time-hopping...of all the possible events I saw...I would never have guessed such magic could exist.” The older stallion smirked at this. “Then again, who else would be crazy enough to try than my pupil? You’ve made an old man proud, Darkness. Now show me what you’ve got!”
And show him he did, his hair jutting out into the wildest directions and his wings sparking as his aura continued to flare brighter and stronger. With one final roar, a massive ball of electricity enveloped the area around Darkness and nearly blinded all those watching for a few moments. When the light finally died down, there, glowing brilliantly for all to see, was one amped up looking Darkness Shade.
“This, Master, is my Elemental Sync Mk.III.” Dark calmly spoke, his body twitching slightly in time with his lightning bursts.
“Impressive, my pupil. Most impressive. To think that you have come so far.” Star-Swirl chuckled softly. “The friendship you have with that angsty spirit must mean a lot to you to give you such motivation.”
“...like we said, a drive so hard that I wouldn’t accept any other result. Though I know not when, we will meet again. And on that day, I look forward to showing Mallie-kun how much he means to me. But until then…” Dark smirked, upturning his palm and motioning at his master. “Please do me the honor of a sparring match with you, Master.”
“Well now...that sounds like a fun idea. It has been so long since I’ve gotten “down and dirty” as the kids say.” Star-Swirl magically untied his cloak and levitated his hat off his head before poofing them over to Discord. “I say, old friend, please keep an eye on those for me, will you?”
Discord, having already put the cape and hat on, gave a wave and grinned. “But of course. Now then, how about you show me something as well. Can’t let dear Darkness have all the fun, can we?”
“Haha, indeed we can’t.” Star-Swirl took a deep breath before closing his eyes. “I won’t be holding back, Darkness.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way, Master. Now then...show me your Elemental Sync once again and face me as we once did, so long ago.”
All was quiet save for the crackle surrounding Darkness, until Star-Swirl’s body began to lightly shake, the ground beneath him rumbling and shifting as bits of the earth levitated upwards as he focused his magic. Swirls of lightning and fire began to shift and dance around and through his mane and tail, while flecks of ice circled his hooves. With all the fanfare of a true mage, four symbols appeared in the air in front of him before exploding outwards and leaving him now glowing a brilliant shade of blue.
Dark gave a long, drawn-out whistle before smirking. “Now that’s what I remember, that mutation that only a true Master such as yourself could obtain.”
“Indeed. This is my Elemental Sync Prime.” Star-Swirl noted.
“Whoa!!!” Lyra’s eyes were wide as she furiously drew in her notebook. “So not only could the legendary Star-Swirl the Bearded wield an Elemental Sync...but his has all four base elements?!”
“Hahaha. That seems to be the case; who knew ol’ jingle bells there was hiding such a thing from me?” Discord clutched his chest and sighed as it fell apart into pieces. “Breaks my chaotic heart.”
“Oh pish posh, Discord. You simply never asked.” Star-Swirl laughed soundly before whipping up a whirlwind of elemental devastation. “Now then...let us begin, Darkness!”
With that Dark and Star-Swirl moved at insanely faster speeds, one only narrowly blocking the other’s strikes and kicks as they maneuvered their way around the battlefield. As hoof met fist, lightning streaked through the sky as the ground itself shifted and contorted under the strain of such raw magical power. The distortions they were producing were so great, that reality itself was warping and the strange chaos land they were in was actually turning normal and making a lot more sense.
Leaping backwards, Dark panted and grinned. “Damn...still as tough as ever, Master.”
“Hahaha.” Star-Swirl panted as well, the movements of the elemental particles around him becoming more erratic. “And you’ve gotten tougher than before, my pupil. You aren’t making this easy on me, but therein lies the fun. This old man hasn’t been able to enjoy himself this freely in so long.”

“Glad to hear it.” Dark stepped back and drew his sword. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. I was hoping to test those skills as well.” At that, Star-Swirl reached deep into the ground and produced a blade that had Dark staring in disbelief.
“How?! How do you have that blade of all blades?” Dark’s mouth hung open as he tried to process the slightly glowing, black blade his master was now holding. “...I...that sword...it’s currently locked away in the castle at Canterlot! I know it is! Before DJ and Malice left, they inquired about the room it was locked away in. Granted, that didn’t make the story’s final cut, but it’s still something that happened.”
“Now that you’ve referenced it happened, right?” Star-Swirl turned towards you and winked. “But worry not, as time is so fluid this is and yet isn’t the sword known as Eclipse ~Last Hope of Illuminated Dreams~.”
“Hey, Discord.” Lyra nudged him slightly after sketching the mysterious, otherworldly looking sword. “What’s so special about that blade? I mean, I can understand why it’s called Eclipse given the way it’s glowing like an actual one, but…”
“...that blade cannot be used by just anybody. It must accept you as being worthy to allow you to pull it free from its bonds, let alone harness its power.” Discord seemed to stare into space for a while, his face contorted in thought. “...was it always imprisoned? I remember someone….”
“Discord?”
Seeing worry in Lyra’s face, he shook his head before grinning. “No worries, Miss Heartstrings. I just seem to be having some issues remembering things. Either way, from what I know of that sword, Dark has his work cut out for him.”
“Are you worried, my pupil?”
Steadying his stance, Dark shook his head. “No. Eclipsis will not fall, even to that blade.”
Star-Swirl wasted no time after hearing such confidence, grinning as Eclipse met Eclipsis with a resounding twang. Once more, the sparks danced as each strike was parried and countered, the two combatants giving their all with each swing. Darkness grunted as he barely dodged a strike, rolling to his right and groaning as he felt blood begin to drip down his cheek.
“Damn...that was too close.” Checking, he was relieved at the wound being not nearly as bad as he thought before wiping his hand off on his jeans. “If I don’t end this soon, it might get just as messy as last time.”
Spinning the sword above his head and striking a pose, Star-Swirl figured a bit of smack-talking was in order. “What is the matter, Darkness? Are you the ruler of those that clean?”
“...wut?”
“You know, those that clean? The ones that scrub messes?”
Dark dead-panned as his eyes turned into simple dots. “Are...are you trying to call me a scrublord?”
“Yes! Is...is that not what the kids are to say when talking the smack to their opponent?”
Dark face-palmed and sighed heavily before standing back up. “Master...that hurt more than the sword wound. And now I know I have to finish this soon, before you embarrass yourself even more.”
Planting his sword into the ground, Dark put his hands together before flashes of dark purple began to emerge from his palms. Sensing what his intentions were, Star-Swirl planted himself firmly in the ground, the earth itself latching tightly on to his hooves. Readying Eclipse, he barely prepped himself before Dark shouted.
“Let’s see you block this when it’s amped up to three, Master! Darkness Eraser...CLIMAX!!” With that...interesting suffix to his iconic attack, a wave of magic fired forth, wrapped in all sorts of chaotic lightning patterns. Star-Swirl seemed a bit surprised by its ferocity, but he held his ground and struck it dead on with his blade. The earth shifted a little at the impact, but Star-Swirl managed to keep his footing. Seeing this, Dark grimaced before roaring loudly and doubling the size of his attack. The older pony grunted as his balance shifted and he began to be pushed back.
“Haha...you have gotten quite strong, my pupil. I am proud of that. However…” Focusing all four elements into his grip, he pushed with all his might and cleaved Dark’s attack in half, sending it flying off and exploding in the background in a brilliant shower of sparks and debris.
“Da...dammit!” Dark grunted before gasping in pain, watching as his electricity began to fade. “No...shit, as I thought. It’s still too unstable to maintain like I want. I’m still not fully there.”
“Impressive, my dear student. Most impressive.” Star-Swirl slowly walked towards Dark’s kneeling form as his looks shifted back to his base one. “That form...it seems as if it does exist, however…”
Dark grunted as he was flung back by his Master’s attack, landing on his back and panting.
“It would seem it’s not quite perfected, and in that state it burns magic like crazy. Heh, I imagine the only one possibly capable of handling such an imperfect version of that mutation is that purple one...but she’s far from learning that one, let alone her Mk.II.” Star-Swirl smirked. “Indeed, she’s got much to learn...especially with the task she’s dealing with right now. As for you, my pupil...this duel needs it’s end...you did well, but I can’t say you’ve passed…”
“Heh...still as vague as ever. Whatever this test is, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Good to hear!”



The battlefield was silent for a moment at that, before Dark started chuckling widely. “Dammit, Ryan! You and those puns, even now!”
“Haha, yer all smiling, you know it. Also, sorry for the jarring way of doing that, but FiMFic totally needs an option to code different fonts at will. Would have made that waaaaaay easier.” Ryan winked before dashing over and knocking Star-Swirl backwards. “Still, yer being pretty tough on mah partner, and that ain’t fair.”
“So then, Ryan, how long have you been awake for?”
“Enough, Swirly. For some reason, yer keeping us away from T-Sparks while she’s dealing with whatever nonsense that book of yers unleashed. Probably so she can learn on her own, without relying on her human for help. That’s fine and dandy.” Ryan held his arms out to his side and shook his head. “But pretending to be us? Or rather, creating a magical shadow version of us? Dragging us here to fight? Ah’ve heard of worse reasons to test someone, but man, do you have a portal to pop culture in our world or what? It’s getting pretty hard to keep these references believable.”
Star-Swirl chortled for a moment. “As if you care about things being believable.”
“Point, but still. Ah have ta keep some semblance of order in all that chaos, otherwise we’d lose all those fans...and Ah’d hate for that to happen.”
Dark slowly stood up before flaring his Elemental Sync and smirking. “Nicely done, bro. Keeping Master busy with your reality bending chat gave me enough time to catch my second wind.”
“Always. Who doesn’t enjoy having fun like that? Now then...you want a worthy result, right? Heh, then we’ll show you that as long as we never give up on each other…”
“Then nothing can stop us from protecting who we care about. Ya ready, partner?!”
“Always, Dark. Especially when the beat fills me with such determination!”
With a quick 1,2,3,4 of what appeared to be the fusion dance and a shout of Soul Synchronization!, Ryan and Dark were no longer there, and instead…
“We are the champion of Justice! The Ally of Harmony and all that is Righteous! We are Kuroyami Kouki, and it’s time to get down!” With that Kouki began dancing in sync with the beat, all while motioning for Star-Swirl to come get some.
“...what the hell is he doing?” Lyra raised an eyebrow as she drew the odd scene she saw in front of her.
“He’s fight-dancing.” Discord chuckled, watching as Kouki was giving Star-Swirl a run for his money as he bobbed and weaved in time with the beats. “Most impressive. I knew the boy had some fancy footwork, but those are some funky steps he’s laying down. The old man is getting a bit frustrated by it all. Hahaha.”
Indeed, Star-Swirl found it much more difficult to land a hit on Kouki, getting slightly frustrated as each swipe of his sword continued to miss the fused being...and only left him open to counterattack as he got wapped over and over again. Eventually he began swiping faster and faster, but this time both Eclipsis and Malus Domestica blocked back the ancient sword, keeping it at bay until finally….
“You’ve had yer fun, but that thing needs to go bye-bye!” Kouki shouted, channeling his combined magic into both swords and striking Eclipse as hard as he could.
Star-Swirl gasped and watched as said sword buckled before slicing in two, the pieces flying off into the horizon. “...heh, you figured it out.”
“Indeed. While quite close to it, it truly is and isn’t the same sword.” Kouki hopped back and smirked. “So then, what now, Master?”
Not saying a word, Star-Swirl began to flair his magic before summoning forth a large amount of ice, earth, fire, and lightning around the fused human, laughing softly all the while. “Now then, you two….let’s see how well you can dodge this!”
Eyes going wide, but still feeling the beat, Kouki snickered and began spinning his swords wildly as he fought off the onslaught of elemental destruction. The sparking sizzles of each reflected attack hissed in time with the melody of the battlefield, leaving Lyra too enraptured to properly capture the moment.
“Getting caught up in it, Miss Heartstrings?” Discord chuckled. “I must say, it is a sight to watch...as is that of their purple horse.”
“What?”
“See for yourself.” Discord pulled a strange bubble out of the wizard hat on his head and smiled. “As Ryan and Dark face off with their own trial, Twilight Sparkle seems to be figuring hers out. She’s already fixed three of her friends’ issues, and most likely she’ll be finished by the time this duel is over.”
“Ooookay, but what does that mean? Why are they both having to deal with this?”
“...I’m not completely sure as to why.” Discord looked at his old friend, throwing all he could at Kouki during the duel. “Sure, I may be a god of chaos, but even I can’t exactly see the future. Not like ol’ Swirlsby there. Something must be coming, something big. That...almost would worry me were it not for what I know of those mares...and of course the human they love.”
“Yeah...we’ll get through whatever comes our way.” Lyra grinned, putting the finishing touches on the current sketch. “As long as our hearts are one, we’ll protect what we love and cherish.”
“Hahaha, oh I hope so, Miss Heartstrings. I have found myself becoming rather attached to this place, so I would like it to remain here for some time.”
“Huff, huff….huff...my my, that form of yours certainly is quite the beauty.” Starswirl laughed before coughing. “Even with the full might of my elemental barrage, you’re still standing and ready for more.”
“What can we say, Swirly? We’re just too stubborn for our own good sometimes.” Kouki chuckled softly before grimacing, his magic flickering around him. “But...we’ve gotta finish this. You wanted to see all that we have, right?”
“Indeed. I need to know if you’re ready…”
“Very well then.” Closing his eyes, Kouki took a deep breath as several flashes of light began surrounding him. “It’s a delightfully chaotic day out, isn’t it? The birds are swimming and the fish flying...on a day like this, Master, we’ll show you the power to make evil burn in Hell.”
Their eyes opening suddenly, they stared at Starswirl before the lights took on familiar shapes. “Justice Blitz Ω!”
Starswirl closed his eyes and smiled. “Well then...it would appear you really can harness those...looks like my theories from back then were right after all. Who could’ve guessed? Hahahahahaha!”
“Honesty!” With all the added strength of Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee, Kouki launched himself straight at Starswirl before landing a devastating kick that sent him flying. Quickly reacting, the older mage did his best to pull out of the blow only to see a rainbow blur heading his way.
“Loyalty!” With that Starswirl gasped as another kick landed, followed by another, and another as his fused student’s speed batted him around like a ping-pong ball. Eventually they ceased their attack, watching as the bearded stallion grunted as he impacted the ground.
“Generosity!” Kouki was motionless, a pale purple glow surrounding him as Starswirl watched cautiously. Noting they still hadn’t moved, he went on the offensive and unleashed with all the magic power he had left. Barrage after barrage struck the fused being, kicking up a rather large dust cloud that blocked him from sight.
“Kouki!” Lyra shouted, though paused when she felt Discord’s paw on her shoulder. “Huh? What the? Discord? Why are you wearing a blue hoodie…? And are those fuzzy slippers? What the heck!?”

Discord could only chuckle, his left eye glowing ominously. “Why, just getting into the spirit of things with the boys. Nothing says I can’t have a little fun with that pesky wall as well.”
Lyra raised an eyebrow, but figured that it wasn’t worth prying. “Ooookay, but why are you laughing? Starswirl just unloaded on them! And they stood there taking it!”
“Hahaha, oh you’ll see just why, mint mare. Something tells me Swirlsby is about to have quite the bad time...”

For yet another time, things were quiet and tense on the battlefield as Starswirl stood panting. His gut knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop them, and sure enough he watched them come flying at him. Each punch felt worse than the last, no doubt Ryan and Dark doing their all to return the might as generously as they could. Soon enough the onslaught ended, the fused human grabbing Starswirl and swinging him around and around before throwing him with intense force. Vanishing from sight, Kouki appeared in front of Starswirl, two familiar stars on his palms.
“Oh….this most assuredly will sting.”
“Magic!” Unleashing a strike in the shape of said Element of Harmony, it impacted the wizard and sent him hurtling back towards the ground. Thinking quickly, Kouki dove towards him and caught him just before he left another crater in what was quickly becoming a pot-marked field.
“Kindness!” With that, Kouki pulled a table from out of nowhere, complete with tablecloth, tray of cookies and...was that a pot of tea?
“Still take your tea the same way, Master? Eight cubes of sugar and a dash of cinnamon?”
Starswirl seemed slightly puzzled but slowly nodded. “Why, yes...I’m surprised you remembered after all this time.”
Handing him the cup, Kouki smiled before laughing. “Master, who can forget a pony who would only drink tea if it was more sugar than tea?”
“Oh yes...Celestia always did hate that. Especially when our glasses would get mixed up. That face she would make, scrunched up and perplexed...oh, priceless.” Starswirl sipped it softly, grinning from ear to ear. “Oh yes...that’s the sweetness.”
“Indeed, Master…”
“Hmmm? Darkness?”
“We hope you’ve enjoyed this small reprieve...but sad to say, we’re not done yet, Swirly.”
“Pardon?”
“Laughter!” Though he should’ve seen it coming a mile away, it would seem even a pony that has a mastery over time itself can be taken by surprise. Said surprise being Kouki springing back and sending Starswirl rocketing into the sky from an uppercut of ludicrous proportions. Grunting and rubbing his jaw, he slowed his momentum and floated in the air, staring down at the fused being that became ever more intriguing the more they fought.
“Not bad, not bad...but that’s six Elements. While you may have done them in a different order than before, I know that’s the end of your attack...and I’m still standing. Until I’m unconscious, you haven’t proved ready.”
At this a flicker of light began to spark from behind Kouki, the Applemon cutie mark on his jacket flaring brightly before he held out both his hands. Slowly, a bright light formed in his palms as he smirked. “JUSTICE FINISHER!”
“WHAT?! There’s another move?!”
“My oh my, those boys have been busy.” Discord snickered. “You still drawing, Miss Heartstrings?”
“Yeah but...why are you so worried about that?”
“Hahaha, never you mind...just keep at it. It will be ending soon enough…”
Starswirl prepared himself as best he could, but was surprised as nothing happened. In fact, it would appear that Kouki wasn’t firing at him at all, and rather was shooting what appeared to be lemon-shaped lights passed him.
“Uhm...ya know, usually, you’re supposed to hit who you’re fighting with.” He watched him continue to miss. “Seriously, are you even trying to hit me?”
“NO!”
“The hell do you mean no?” It was then the unfortunate pony looked behind him. “Oh.” Then above. “Oh.” Then all around him. “Ooooooooh….shit.”
“LEMON LIGHT BARRAGE!!”
‘Oh man...light lemonade tastes awful. Dammit!’
In that moment Starswirl got absolutely wrecked by the overwhelming amount of detonating balls of lemony light, explosions rocking him left and right before finally all was quiet and his body fell to the ground where it lay limp and beaten. Kouki let out a sigh and slowly lowered to the ground, grunting in pain.
“BOOM SHAKALAKA! Damn...glad ta see that training paid off but...is he really done?” Kouki slowly walked over to Starswirl and gave him a nudge. “Master? He’s still breathing but...why does he look untouched? ...!”
Kouki gasped as he was struck with a full strength Elemental Sync punch, sending him flying back and colliding with a mountain that came out of nowhere. Coughing and clutching his gut, he could see that Starswirl was not only still standing, but looking as fresh as he was when their duel had begun. “H-how?”
“Hahaha, oh my dear pupil...do you not remember my speciality?”
“...Time.”
“Quite. I am a master of time, having traversed it so much. Why else would they name that wing after me?”
“...of course. The moment that attack went to hit, you traveled through time.”
Starswirl smirked, staring up at his student as he hovered just in front of where he’d impacted the mysterious mountain. “Correct. And once the attack ended, I simply reappeared in time, throwing you off and letting you get close. You almost had me with that last attack, seeing as I wasn’t expecting it. Clever, but not enough…”
“...we aren’t done. There’s one last thing to do...let’s see you time-skip yer way outta this!”
Steadying himself and shouting, Kouki began to pant heavily before glaring at his Master.
“Ultra...Fightin’...Miracle….”
Discord smirked, pleased that he finally got to see this and it wasn’t because it was being used on him. Meanwhile, Lyra was about to wear out her pencil as she scribbled furiously, capturing the moments as best she could. At the same time, Starswirl was quite perplexed: why would Kouki pull out this move, let alone so far away? He must know that a beam struggle battle was not going to happen and that he’d end up missing, especially since there was plenty of distance to give Starswirl the time he needed to time-out from reality and then just reappear.
“You know this won’t work!”
“Why?” Kouki smirked, striking a dramatic and heroic pose before pointing at Starswirl. “Because you’ve seen through time? You’ve seen the future? Please! We’ve seen Back to the Future, so we know that the future isn’t written! It’s whatever we want to make of it, and we’re about to write an awesome ending to this one!”
“...is that so? Then by all means, Ryan and Dark...give me all you’ve got!”
“Harmonized….Justice….” And at the last second, Kouki instantly teleported to right in front of Starswirl, hands together and surrounded by the symbols of all six Elements. A wide-eyed Starswirl was momentarily stunned at such an unexpected move, but smirked as Kouki finished his move and this fight. “CANNON!”
The full force of Harmony itself unloaded on Starswirl, sending him careening into the sky for quite a distance before the attack fizzled. Sensing that there was no time-travel shenanigans this time, Kouki ran as fast as his tired body would allow before he dove to catch his Master’s unconscious self. Grunting in pain, he split back into Ryan and Dark, the latter of which was holding Starswirl.
“Bravo, boys, bravo!” Discord remarked, clapping his paw and claw as he and Lyra headed over towards them. “I don’t think ol’ Swirlsby has had a challenge like that in some time. And look at you two, my my you’ve gotten stronger. You might actually be a challenge for myself as well if the need ever arose.”
“Ah hope...fer yer sake, Disky...it doesn’t. Ah’d hate to have to kibosh a friend. Hahaha.” Ryan groaned. “Damn...that wore me out something fierce.”
“...yeah.” Dark steadied his breathing, using what little power he had left from the fusion to heal his Master up, the diamond shaped Element representing it glowing lightly on his hands. “Master...it’s...it’s...heh, it’s so good to see you again. Even if this is only temporary...if I’m only my own self thanks to the background chaos of this dimension. It’s weird, thinking on how you are here and how time is just too messy. Haha...but, whatever your reason was to fight us…”
“...Dark.” Ryan quietly stated, watching him hug his Master tight and lose the battle to hold back his tears.
“...It’s been so nice to be able to talk with you and, yes, even spar with you again. I...I just wish things could’ve been different...we could’ve had more time...we could’ve...we could’ve done so much to help others.”
“...heh, time often never works with us, eh Darkness?” Starswirl chuckled as he slowly opened his eyes. “Yowza, you two really hit me with your best, huh?”
Setting him down, Dark nodded with a smirk. “Of course! To do any less would be dishonoring our duel.”
“Quite right. Goodness...it’s so weird, isn’t it? To you, I’ve been gone for hundreds of years...but for me, it’s as if I just spoke with you yesterday.”
“Master…?”
“Hmmm?”
“When...when you passed away...you told me that everything would be okay. But...but it wasn’t. I lost...I died...Cordy was petrified...Sombrero fell to darkness...Woona was banished...how could that have been alright?”
Starswirl hung his head sadly. “Alas, though I knew what was to pass, I could say nothing. Time had to be preserved, and you all had to find your path in it. But...I did not lie that day. Everything will be and always shall be okay as long as you never forget the power in Friendship. Though it took much time, eventually things began to right themselves, yes? We have that stubbornly devoted young man to thank for that, more or less. Though it was his herd that saved the Moon Princess, he helped you save your friends: one from the madness of solitude and the other from the madness of arcane evil. It took a very long time, but the sadness I could not prevent from passing is being healed.”
“Okay, okay….Ah hate interrupting yer touching moment between sensei and disciple, but Ah’m confused by something: what was all this?” Ryan gave a sigh. “Why did you feel it necessary to keep us away from T-Sparks? And why to test us?”
“Something is coming that will test all of you.” Starswirl looked at the ground, his hat and cape reappearing on his person. “...that’s all I can say. I see a great challenge in your future...one that I, despite not wanting to meddle, had to know you had the strength of heart to face.” The old pony smiled slightly from under his hat. “I feel I may have worried for no reason. That purple one is resourceful and refuses to give up. And you two...you face any challenge for the sake of your friends. Heh, even if your friend is said challenge. That young Prince was on to something when he said what he did to me. Indeed, that will most certainly aid you in another world…”
“...another world?” Lyra titled her head, puzzled by those words. “What is that supposed to mean…huh?!”
“Master?!” Dark remarked, watching him slowly fade from sight.
“Haha, it’s alright. My time here was limited, I pretty much burned what was left taking that hit from Kouki.” Starswirl smiled at Dark, his emotions now getting to him as his eyes began to water. “I’m proud of you, Dark. You’ve made this old man happy and that is why, from here on out, you are no longer my student...you are my equal.”
“...w-what?”
“In other words, you’ve passed your test as my pupil. You are a full-fledged mage, in both spirit and title now. Congratulations, Darkness!”
“Hahahaha….” Dark sniffled, watching Starswirl fading even more. “Even if you say that, you’ll always be my Master. Will we meet again someday?”
“Who knows?” Starswirl chuckled as he faded from sight. “Only time will tell…”
And like that he was gone, leaving the four of them there to wonder what next.
“Well it’s not like I don’t know.” Discord remarked, fiddling about in his hoodie. “Ah! Good! We haven’t missed it yet! The old man knows his timing, that’s for sure.”
“What are ya talking about, Disky?”
“Why the end result of your dear book smarts’ test, of course. Come on! I know a shortcut!”
With that he grabbed all of them by the hand as one moment they were standing in the chaotic dimension….

….and the next, they were back in Ryan’s home looking at five very confused mares surrounding a strange burn mark on the ground.
“Apple Ryder!” AppleJack practically tackled him. “Where in the hell have ya been?! Do you have any idea what’s been going on, let alone what just happened?”
“Ah’ve had mah fair share of troubles today, so ya mind filling me in?”
“Jeez, Rys...there was all this crazy stuff! Our cutie marks got flipped, and we all did each other's jobs, and man did we suuuuuuuck at them!” Rainbow sighed. “But Twilight figured a way to help us and one by one she fixed our marks and then, when she’d fixed everything, she figured out the end to some spell in that dusty book she got.”
‘Master….’ Darkness mentally glanced at Starswirl’s journal and frowned. ‘What happened next?’
“Well Darky-Warky! After that, things got all crazy and lights shined and then suddenly Twilight just went poof!”
‘Poof?’
“Yeah! She just disappeared and left that strange burn mark on the ground! We’re not sure what’s going on.”
“Hmmm...what do you think Disky? Disky?” Ryan looked around, only to see him missing. “Where the heck...doesn’t matter. Ah wonder if this is her test that he mentioned…”
“Darling...what test? What exactly is going on?”
There was a sudden burst of light outside and upon heading out there as quick as they could, the sight in the sky told them they’d get there answer soon.
“That’s her cutie mark...at least a variation of it.” Lyra titled her head. “Why six points?”
“Something tells me we’re about to find out. “ Spike shielded his eyes as the cutie mark sign began to descend down towards them before it dissipated only to reveal, “Twilight?”
“Goodness me! She has wings now!”
“That’s certainly somethin’. Mah bookworm is an alicorn now?!”
“U-uhm...d-does that mean that she...she’s a princess now?”
“Indeed it does, dear Fluttershy.”
Turning their attention to the new voice, Celestia herself had appeared with a rather large smile on her face. “There have been many trials, many challenges, and many difficulties in the journey of Friendship you’ve made since coming to Ponyville.” Celestia glanced at Ryan and chuckled. “Even if the appearance of a certain human changed things in ways I did not expect, you still met each new test with the determination and strength of heart I knew you were capable of.”
“...ya know, Ah feel that’s a sleight against me, but Ah can’t rightly argue. Ah do cause quite the commotion.”
“Indeed.” Celestia chuckled softly. “And through all that, Twilight, you did something that even the great Starswirl himself was unable to do. You’ve come to understand Friendship in a way that no other has yet and for that I congratulate you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“I...I still...is there a book about being a princess? I feel like I have more to learn…”
“Heh, there will be time for that later. However...we have a coronation to plan for tomorrow. Perhaps someone can help us plan such a thing?”
Pinkie grinned widely and nodded her head. “Oh me, me, me, me, me! Pick me!”
Celestia smiled warmly before nodding. “Of course, Pinkie. We’d be happy to have your help...hmmm? Twilight?”
“Princess...does this mean that...that I’m no longer your student?”
“Twilight...I will always be there to help you when you need guidance, but this also means that you have things to teach me now, as well. Now then...rest up! Tomorrow will be a big day.”
‘Heh, in more ways than one, I imagine.’ Dark chuckled softly before sighing. ‘Man, Master...when you said something was going on, I never would’ve thought it’d involve a new princess. Noice!’
“Technically, partner, we kinda did…”
‘Maybe...but we were just guessing, not like DJ ever said we were right. Haha.’
“Fair enough...let’s just rest up. After today’s shenanigans, Ah can tell we most certainly need it.”

The next day, inside Canterlot Castle, Twilight was fidgeting a bit as she waited with her fellow herdmates and human for Celestia and Luna to arrive.
“Relax, hun.” Ryan smiled softly, helping her slightly adjust her mane. “It’s easy-peasy. Some things are said and ‘boom!’, you get a crown and totally become an awesome pony princess….”
“Hmm? What’s wrong my peach?”
“...nothing, just...remembering something Deej told me about this world. Ah never thought such phrases would be normal ta me, but then again Ah’m anything but so guess it all makes sense.”
‘Exactly, Ry! Pretty pony princesses are totally a thing you can roll with. Need I bring up the brushie-brushie time again?’
Ryan sighed, facepalming and dragging his hand down his face very slowly. “No, Darkness...you need not.”
“Tsk, tsk…” Rarity wrapped her magic around Ryan’s glasses, poofing them clean. “Dear, do try to keep from dirtying your glasses. Even if that scamp of a soul warrants such actions, you must look your best.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Ryan rolled his eyes, thankful to see Luna and Celestia finally showing up. “Thank you God...now then, let’s crown us some new royalty!”
“Well then, are you ready Princess Twilight?”
“...that’s going to take some getting used to, but yes, Luna, I am.”
“Then let us not keep the crowd any longer.” With that Celestia led them out on to the balcony overlooking the square and boy oh boy was there a lot of ponies gathered together.
“Goodness...that crowd is loud.” Spike laughed softly. “Then again, not everyday we get a new princess.”
“True enough.” Ryan nodded before moving to the side with the rest of his herd as Celestia and Luna took point with Twilight.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here for a momentous occasion. Some time ago, I sent my student Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville to learn about the magic of Friendship. In the time that she was there, she not only reunited me with my sister, Princess Luna, but with the bonds she shares with her friends, was able to repel the god of chaos twice and even reform him.”
‘...technically, Ryan was the last pushing point, but details, Tia.’
“Ahem, as I was saying. Having done all that, today is even more special as Twilight has created a brand new magic. In doing so, she has shown that she is ready to be crowned the newest Princess of Equestria. So without further delay, we now present to you Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
‘Heh...ya know, Master...the others would’ve loved seeing a day like this come to pass. Human, pony, or otherwise...it would’ve given them so much hope for the future.’ Dark was lost in his thoughts for a moment before he joined the cheering of everyone else there. ‘Hell yeah, Twily! You rock!’
As it was, the cheering of the crowd was almost too overwhelming for Twilight as she stood there a bit stunned at the moment. Only after an encouraging nudge by Celestia did she finally gather herself enough to address the crowd.
Clearing her throat she put on a smile. “As the Princess said, I was sent to Ponyville to study Friendship which, at the time, I really didn’t deem all that worthwhile a pursuit. Today, however, would not be possible were it not for all the friendships that I’ve made in my time there. I honestly doubt I’d have come so far were it not for all of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Always happy to help, T-Sparks.” Ryan winked and struck a pose. “Now then, maybe we should get moving to the crowning and reception, otherwise Ah feel like Shiny there is gonna drown us all in his tears.”
“Huh?” Twilight was shocked to see her brother crying. “Shining?”
“I’m just so proud of you, Twily!” Shining couldn’t hold back his emotions. “Besides, it’s liquid pride! Totally not the same thing!”
‘Heh, if you say so Shiny.’ Dark laughed, as well did the others at his teasing.
“T-Sparks…” Ryan knelt down and took her in a big hug. “Ah’m so proud of ya, hon. And Ah know that no matter what changes this brings about, our herd will get through it like we’ve always done: together.”
“Thank you my peach.” She nuzzled his cheek before smiling.
“That’s all happy and stuff and we’ll totally come back to all the lovey-dovey, but we’ve got a celebration to get started so come on!” Pinkie shouted, pushing everyone along until somehow they were now in the coronation parade.
“...how did we get here from the balcony?” Rainbow asked, looking quite puzzled.
“It’s Pinkie, don’t question it.”
“Fair enough, Lyra.”
With ponies cheering and singing as they walked, it seemed as if everything would be all right as Twilight spread her wings and soared free amidst exploding bursts of petals from Malus Domestica. And as Ryan watched her flying high, he figured that yeah, just maybe things would be all right….until a thought struck him hard and moved all focus to him. “Oh no…”
“...what’s wrong, Apple Ryder?”
“T-Sparks is a Princess...that makes her royalty now.”
“...yer point?”
“We’re all connected to her...specifically in a romantic way.”
“...still not getting what yer hammerin’ at.”
“Don’t ya see, Apps?! That means if she’s a Princess, and therefore royalty, we’ll be royalty too!” Ryan seemed overcome by that fact for a moment. “...which means...Ah’m kinda a prince just like Deej now….that’s, uh, that’s gonna be fun. Heh, eyup. Yeah...that’s...that’s…”

And at that moment Ryan, no doubt realizing what kinda pressure that was going to add to their lives, collapsed as his herd watched on in slight worry, but mostly amusement that as usual their human was overthinking things. As the group laughed and hefted him up to continue on, Discord and a hooded figure were watching from a distance with slight smiles on their faces.
“My, my, and here I was hoping the boy wouldn’t be too worried about being a prince now.”
“Seems par for the course with that one, Discord. So I’ve heard, anyway.” The hooded figure was quiet for a moment before speaking up. “The mint one...you made sure she got the art book and began an interest in capturing their journeys?”
“Of course I did. Please, give me some credit: while a plan is technically order, I can still pull one off. I’m not that unprofessional you know.”
“Heh, of course. That’s good though...it will prove most useful when the time comes.”
“I’d ask exactly what that was supposed to mean, but given how little you’ve been willing to share with me to begin with I highly doubt you’ll tell me now.”
The hooded figure paused a moment before looking at Discord. “The memories that will go into that book...they will be important, Discord. Terribly so.”
“Oh, how mysterious~” Discord scoffed. “You know, I’m usually one that is all for surprises, but something about how your acting is rubbing me the wrong way. Almost as if...I wonder. Hmmm...are you sure we haven’t met?”
“Who can say? However...it’s best you don’t know more. Even this is...probably, no, definitely breaking some rules.” The hooded figure motioned for Discord’s paw before depositing something into it.
“Huh? This is…”
“Shhh...when the time is right, you’ll know when to make use of this.”
“Is that wise, leaving me of all people in charge of something like that?”
“I have my reasons to trust you...despite what…”
Discord’s eyebrow raised so high at that, it might as well have been in space. “Despite what...?”
Shaking his head, the figure bit his tongue. “Regardless of why, you’ll know when that will be relevant. But Discord, please promise me…”
“Hmmm?”
“Don’t make the same mistake he did...heh, who knows? Perhaps the next time we meet, I can finally explain everything to you.”
“Okay, I’ve gone along with this because you said it had something to do with the boy and those ponies of his, but unless you start making sense I’m not sure I can be patient with you for much longer.”
“Heh...the god of chaos asking someone to make sense? Never thought I’d see the day. Maybe you will be different than him.” The figure began to fade away, flicks of green sparking all around him. “Remember what I said, Discord...a lot is riding on it. Don’t waste it…”
And just like that Discord was alone again, the only company he had his thoughts and the item he currently held. Unsure as to just what it all meant, and realizing that irritated him more than it should, he figured it wasn’t worth worrying about now. After all, there was a new Princess in town...and once she, her friends, and that human of theirs had gotten time to settle into that fact, he’d be right there to congratulate them. In his own way, of course.
“Hahaha, something tells me that the most delightfully chaotic storms are brewing. Oooooh, that makes me shiver a little. I simply can’t wait to see what is carried on their winds.” Discord smirked before turning towards the audience. “And, were I to wager, neither can you. Oh yes, dear friends, let us anticipate together…”